Mayor Gary Ander opened the June 8 regular council meeting with a statement against racism:
“I would like to acknowledge something that cannot be ignored,” said Ander. “As I watch the events unfolding south of the border, I acknowledge that in our own province, in a time when we have come together to keep our community safe against a global pandemic, our response has been weakened by acts of racist violence.
“Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, yet here in Canada, as in the United States and around the world, racism is too often a reality of day to day life.
“While we are proud of the culture of respect and inclusion on Bowen Island, there is still work to be done on all of our parts. We are not immune to racist attitudes and acts. We all have a responsibility to continually reflect on whether our words or actions express bias, whether consciously or unconsciously.
“At Bowen Island Municipality, we pledge to uphold the Canadian values of diversity and inclusion and to oppose racism and hate in all its forms.
“We are committed to listening, we are committed to learning, and we are committed to supporting change.”
The statement comes following a recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the Lower Mainland in the face of COVID-19 as well as the global swell of anti-racism protests and solidarity marches.
Here are briefs from the meeting that followed:
Uphill battle: Council reiterated its position against recreational motorized use of Mt. Gardner in a six-to-one vote.
In April, council had voted to send a letter to Recreation Sites and Trails BC district recreation officer Tom Blackbird asking that the province ban motorized vehicles on the Mt. Gardner Crown land. More than 80 islanders wrote letters to in support of this resolution (to both Blackbird and council). In the last regular meeting, council had asked to approve the letter before it was sent.
BIM’s four-page letter to Blackbird outlines concerns for non-motorized recreational users, the watershed (it’s just above Grafton Lake) and biodiversity. The value of eco-tourism (people come to the island to hike those trails), the limited medical resources of the island in the case of accidents and the Islands Trust’s mandate to preserve and protect too feature in the letter. The letter specifies that BIM isn’t requesting a ban for motorvehicles used in telecommunications work, emergency rescue and authorized trail infrastructure repair.
The issue of motorized use of Mt. Gardner came to the fore last fall when the Bowen Trail Riders Association, one of three organizations that together hold a partnership with the province to do maintenance and improvements on Mt. Gardner, proposed a two-track motorized trail up the hill. Blackbird quashed that plan after local uproar.
BTRA president Kevan Bernards made a presentation to council Monday evening, arguing the case for continued motorized use. He said that while there’s been lots of conflict on social media on this matter, there’s been little on the trails. He noted the safety and improvement work the organization has done on the Mt. Gardner trails (including the controversial motorized trail Easy Street) totalling more than 1000 volunteer hours.
“We feel the decision to pursue the action of restricting motorized use was a poor one and rashly made,” said Bernards. “An act based on assumptions and personal opinion, and not in the spirit of respecting our diverse community’s different ways of enjoying the outdoors.”
Councillors acknowledged BTRA’s position but pointed to the mountain of letters asking for prohibition.
Coun. Sue Ellen Fast noted that the trails were designed and approved (in a pre-municipal era) as hiking trails. Coun. David Hocking said he was concerned that the province can unilaterally make land-use decisions about the heart of Bowen. There was also concern for Bowen’s quiet and natural brand.
Coun. Michael Kaile said that his participation in the original branding exercise for the municipality informed his stance, “Having been part of that branding exercise, I’m under no doubt at all that motorized terrain vehicles really, emotionally, have no place within the psyche of Bowen Island.”
As the single councillor opposed, Coun. Alison Morse said she wondered if they were going to get anywhere with the letter (given that Recreation Sites and Trails BC is in the process of redoing their trails plan on a larger scale). She also commented that the environmental case for banning motorized could be construed as a case for banning use entirely.
In the yoga zone: In another high-letter matter, Nectar Yoga is looking to rezone its mid-island parcel of land just below Mt. Gardner so that it can operate a retreat centre.
Council unanimously passed second readings of amendments to the Land Use Bylaw and Official Community Plan and put the matter to public hearing.
Under current zoning, the property is rural residential but to expand the business, Nectar Yoga needs rural commercial zoning for a portion of the property. Under the amendment, an allowable use of “retreat centre” would allow a maximum of 40 in-residence guests, staff accommodations, a residence for the retreat centre owner and accessory buildings.
Conditions of the rezoning include that approximately 25 per cent of the property’s 20 acres would be designated park space. A low-impact trail (or equivalent financial contribution) would be built through the park. An easement for a trail along another section of the trail would be put in place to allow for a future trail development. A riparian area covenant would be placed around Bowen Brook, which would require a permit for any sort of development (even driveway, water or electrical) in the area. And, a protective covenant would be put on proposed residential lots (some of the property would be rural residential and some rural commercial) to ensure 50 per cent of each site would be protected.
Manager of planning and development Daniel Martin said that most public response to the rezoning was in favour though did note that a neighbour was concerned about guests trespassing on their property.
The matter first came to council last September and council passed first reading in February.
Recreation restart: As COVID’s numbers remain relatively flat and the provincial reopening phases progress, manager of recreation and community services Shauna Jennings outlined Community Recreation’s reopening plan.
Jennings said that adult programming was already restarting where there’s the space to allow social distancing including Jazzercise, bootcamp, strength and cardio workouts.
Summer daycamps are to go ahead July 6 through Aug. 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday with the BICS gym as a home base but activities outdoors as much as possible.
Summer playcare with a target start of July 6 is to go ahead Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with group sizes limited to six children.
The leaders in training program for 12 to 16 year olds will involve training on Zoom and in-person before volunteer placement in daycamps.
When it comes to sports organizations (eg. BIFC), each has to form a return to sport plan and will have to adhere to provincial sport organizations’ COVID-19 strategies.
See the entire meeting:
