A public open house regarding zoning for private and group moorages was held on Thursday, July 25, at Cates Hill Chapel. Maps were displayed to allow islanders to mark areas of concern, comment sheets were available for public input and a presentation by the Bowen Island Municipality's planning consultant Judy McLeod was followed by a question and answer period.
McLeod had prepared a presentation to highlight some of the issues involved. "Bowen Island includes land covered by water extending seaward 300 metres from the natural high water mark. This land is owned by the provincial Crown, which issues licenses and foreshore tenure. The province seeks to comply with all federal, provincial and municipal regulations, including municipal zoning," McLeod stated, adding that her presentation focused on the Water General (WG1) Zone that applies to most of the Bowen Island coastline.
McLeod drew attention to the fact that current permitted uses and structures for the WG1 zone include boat moorage, docking and launching, neighbourhood and community docks, marine navigation, boat houses and structures accessory to permitted uses and marine navigation, such as floating breakwaters.
"The minimum setback for buildings and structures from any lot line or water lease boundary line is currently 1.5 metres," McLeod added.
As conditions, the current bylaw identifies that the boat moorage is accessory to upland residential use, that it doesn't limit the use or physically divide a beach or negatively impact eelgrass meadows, kelp, clam or mussel beds. And structures made of newly-treated wood have to be BMP certified to ensure the wood has been properly treated and preserved. McLeod made it clear that there are no other regulations regarding the size or location of private moorages in place.
She explained that council has authorized a two-step process that includes initial land use bylaw amendments to the WG1 zone and amendments to the building bylaw to require building permit applications for private moorages. In addition to the amendments, council is looking to develop a set of criteria to evaluate and identify areas of Bowen Island where further regulations should be applied.
At the June 24 meeting, council gave first readings to bylaws 335 and 336. Staff advised the province that BIM is actively reviewing the provisions of the WG1 zone and requested that the province consider deferring a review of foreshore tenure applications until the bylaws are adopted.
The proposed bylaw amendments to the WG1 zone would remove permission for boathouses and floating breakwaters and add new size and setback regulations, according to McLeod. As new minimum setbacks for private and group moorage facility structures, McLeod recommended five metres from any property line extension, 10 metres from any other moorage facility and 10 metres from any property line extension providing public beach access.
Amendments to the WG1 zone would also restrict private moorages to a maximum of one per upland lot. As the maximum measurements of the private moorage facility (excluding gangways), McLeod suggested 37 square metres; the maximum width of gangways are not to exceed 1.5 metres. The length of moorage facilities measured from the high water mark is envisioned to be limited to 60 metres maximum.
The proposed amendments to the building bylaw would require the submission of a building permit for private and group moorage facilities as well as a review by a registered professional.
Peter Williamson attended the public meeting and said that a major issue of concern relates to the two-step approach. "The first step is to pass a bylaw that sets up regulations how docks would be built. The second step, that will come later, will identify parts of the coast line where there would be other restrictions in place," he said, adding that no timeline has been identified for the second step.
"Starting with a permissive step and having a window where the restrictive part is not defined could lead to a rush on dock applications," Williamson said.
Williamson believes that areas like Cape Roger Curtis will potentially be identified as not suitable for docks in the second step of the process. "Areas where docks are restricted would also include all the major beaches," he said. "Many people would agree that it would not be appropriate to have a dock across Deep Bay or Tunstall Bay but I think even the smaller beaches should be protected."
Williamson added that docks and wharves impact beaches not only if they run across it but also by impeding the view. "Part of the enjoyment of a beach is to just sit there and look at the water," Williamson explained. He added that he believes that putting regulations in place for dock construction is a necessary step.
Richard Wiefelspuett believes that in addition to regulating maximum sizes and permissible components of docks, the bylaw also has to address that all docks under consideration now and in the future must have a reasonably high utilization rate.
"Docks are increasingly threatening to infringe on the shared rights of the public of access and enjoyment of all public foreshore areas and beaches," Wiefelspuett stated. "It is not acceptable that new docks are built and used only for a few days every year while all other users of the foreshore and beaches have to put up with them for 365 days and nights each and every year."
Bruce Johnstone also attended the meeting and recalls one speaker who recounted happy childhood memories of spending time on docks on Bowen Island. "To shut that down doesn't make sense," Johnstone said. He explained that the bylaw amendments were likely triggered by dock applications at Cape Roger Curtis that have gone ahead according to current regulations.
"[The owners] are entirely within their legal rights to go ahead with the construction," he said. "But my own feeling is that I don't want the place to look like a hedgehog. I personally would like to explore the feasibility of group dock. Why don't we take the middle ground? It's the most economical solution and the least intrusive." A community dock could also be a potential landing place for charter boats or passenger ferries in the future, Johnstone added.
"I believe that these are the things we should be talking about rather than the all or nothing approach," he said, adding that he would welcome wording in the bylaw to the effect that community docks are encouraged over private mooring facilities.
A comment sheet is available at www.bimbc.ca and can be submitted by email or dropped off at the municipal hall until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 2.
