More dwelling(s): In an attempt to pass community land rezonings before the council term ends, on Monday night council added residential use as a primary use of area 1 of the community lands.
The former designation of “light industrial” for the Mt. Gardner Road adjacent property was met with public outcry at both the all-day workshop June 9 and in emails to council (and the Undercurrent).
There was some controversy among councillors as the bylaws passed through second reading without incorporating the feedback from the yet-to-be-completed report on the community lands workshop.
The bylaws will now pass to public consultation.
City mouse and country mouse: Islands Trust is asking the province and the federal government to designate all islands in the Islands Trust as rural. Funding for rural communities is different, and often greater.
“Bowen is an island, Bowen is rural, Bowen should qualify for these programs,” said Councillor Maureen Nicholson.
This is a prescient issue as applications for B.C.’s Rural Dividend Fund are due July 31. The fund has up to $100,000 on the table for Bowen and BIM wants money to create an economic development policy, including research into local demographics.“It may help in the long run provide us with some of the information we’re woefully short of,” said Councillor Michael Kaile.
Puttering the course: wheels are turning to get Bowen Island a disc (frisbee) golf course. Bowen Island Municipality staff are working with proponents to design a course on the 2.3 hectare chunk of land beside Veterans Park. Volunteers would largely be responsible for setting up and maintaining the course, though an estimated $1200 dollars a year would be allocated for safety maintenance.
