It is potentially a chicken-and-egg-type of situation. The surplus lands could be sold to fund projects such as the extension of the sanitary sewer system. But the sale of the properties could hinge on whether they are connected to water and sewer lines.
The municipality has initiated a study to find the appropriate tools to move initiatives associated with the development in the Snug Cove area ahead.
Brent Mahood, CAO of the Bowen Island Municipality, said in an interview that "[Belterra, Bowen Court and Abbeyfield] are specific properties in that precinct of what the community has come to think of as the Snug Cove area. And we have to look at sewer, water, ferry marshalling and the revitalization of the cove; they are all interrelated."
In the area, there is the Cove Bay Water System, and the municipality envisions two extensions of the sanitary sewer system. The existing sewer serves Cates Hill and Snug Cove. The sewer treatment plant has been upgraded to allow double the capacity.
"We applied for a grant for the expansion of the sanitary sewer system at the same time," Mahood says. "The waste water treatment plant was approved it was a funding grant from the government. But a similar grant for extending the sanitary sewer was turned down. We realized that it had to be done in the future."
Council is trying to find the most appropriate financial tools to support that work, including development cost charges, latecomer fees and grants.
The municipality has also initiated a study on the various options. "The study is done by consultants to confirm all the policies," says Mahood. "We need to look at who benefits from the work, who the potential users are and what are the prices of the systems. We are going to have them research the pros and cons of the different funding options. When a developer comes along, we would know how to evaluate [the project] and what kind of charges they have to pay to develop in the area."
One line of thought is to sell the surplus land and have it totally serviced with water and sewer and then recover the money from the people who develop it. "Others feel that maybe a decent way to approach it is to actually have the developers pay for the work themselves or put money towards it," the CAO says. "I'm not 100 per cent up to speed on all the possibilities around development cost charges in this area nor the latecomer fees that could potentially be gained. But this is the work we are going to do in the next six to seven weeks."
Mahood said that either the municipality funds servicing the surplus lands and would likely would borrow money to do so or a developer would be encouraged to chip in to build the sewer and develop the water. He said, "Whatever the right mix of funding, whatever the right way to finance those projects, that's really an important thing to find out."
The consultant is charged with preparing a funding options proposal. Mahood said, "We have some rough estimates on what it would take to rebuild the dam and what it would take to build a treatment plant, what would be the rough cost to extend the sewer down Miller Road past Abbeyfield. This would be the first leg and it would service the surplus land past the RCMP, the land where Abbeyfield is and Bowen Court. The other extension would go along Mt. Gardener Road past the school down to toward the municipal works yard. Belterra would access this extension by coming down the sewer easement that crosses the land beside the works yard. Those are all projects that have been discussed for a number of years but they are all related to what is going to happen in the cove."
Mahood noted that the decisions on one project could influence others down the road. "We are looking at projects like the Snug Cove village design and transportation plan and the extension of the sanitary sewer. We are also looking at upgrading the water system. And things like the development in Snug Cove, where we may end up choosing electives on reconfiguring the roads or doing whatever is needed to create a different village, will have an impact. This will depend on what people decide they would like to do."
