Qualicum Beach town council continues to pursue its own growth-oriented agenda with its decision to move the Growth Containment Boundary (GCB) and align it with the the town’s municipal boundary. This, in effect, means eliminating the GCB within the town.
By definition, the primary purposes of a GCB is to contain growth within a designated area, protect rural land and limit urban sprawl. The GCB exists for good reasons and any changes should be considered with great care.
Curiously, there has been almost no publicity in the local papers about Qualicum’s proposed boundary change, which is disconcerting for such a significant amendment to the Official Community Plan (OCP).
The OCP review for this major change took place the first week of March of this year. The deadline for public feedback to this boundary change is probably the third or fourth week of March.
By rushing to get this amendment passed by the RDN, council is not giving the community adequate time to consider what the boundary change means and what the consequences of such a change might be.
Could it be that council would rather not have the public understanding and considering the full implications of the amendment?
Those with an interest in proper process should question council’s definition of this amendment as a “minor” change to the OCP. Our GCB is not a minor thing — it exists for very good reasons and should not be so easily and glibly dispensed with.
Robert Arnold
Qualicum Beach
