The following are highlights from Monday night at municipal hall, which included a public hearing and regular council meeting.
Managing Bowen’s pot-ential: Bowen’s marijuana bylaw is in its final stages of becoming ratified.
Once enacted, the “cultivation, production, packaging, storage, distribution, trading or selling of cannabis,” will be prohibited on Bowen, except for on agricultural reserve land.
The wording of the bylaw has been met with some concern — that it could impede local adults’ freedom to have four cannabis plants.
Councillors say that the intent is to prevent wanton sales rather than private recreational production.
The bylaw will now pass to third reading and could be put into place before the end of summer. (Keep in mind marijuana will not be legalized until October 17, so put those doobies back down).
They’re worried the firefighters will want to hold more dances: Council passed a first reading of a bylaw amendment that will prohibit the building of docks that “physically divide a beach” or that “limit or restrict public use of a beach.”
If approved, the clauses would be added to the existing bylaw which says that moorage cannot “impede pedestrian access along the beach portion of the foreshore,” or “negatively impact eelgrass meadows, kelp beds, clam beds or mussel beds.”
Councillor Gary Ander was concerned that this would act a blanket ban on dock building. Mayor Murray Skeels, the bylaw’s proponent, argued that people could still build out from cliff faces.
But it doesn’t lay out community golf challenge guidelines: Council passed the first reading of a subdivision bylaw. Community planner Emma Chow said the goal is to regulate roads, water distribution, sewage collection and disposal, storm water drainage. It is designed to ensure orderly and safe economical development. The 86-page bylaw draft is available online.
Stay healthy until then: Council passed a motion to sign a letter of understanding with the Health Centre Foundation, agreeing to lease them a .2 hectare property for a health care centre. The foundation gained charity status last week, therefore meeting the council’s prerequisite for a loan. The foundation hopes to open the health centre by 2020.
Deck down: Council denied a development variance for local landowners who built a $40,000 deck on their property without a building permit. Council heard that the buildings on the property already exceeded the allowed property coverage.
