Shepherding in Positive Change
Dear friends/neighbours/Islanders,
From my personal experience, wonderful, delightful, magical things can come quite unexpectedly from adversity. Change is scary and I am no fan of it. That said, change is the only way that we grow and evolve, inspire and aspire.
Right now, I think for us Islanders it feels scary: there’s an angry debate pitting neighbour against neighbour about a proposed Metro Vancouver park at our beloved Cape Roger Curtis. And to many it feels daunting and threatening to contemplate the concept of new and unknown parkland on our beautiful little island.
But in reality, the choice is simple:
1) Some kind of park—yet to be imagined
OR
2) “No trespassing” signs on private property
That’s it.
Please search your heart and ask yourself which of these two choices is truly the best one? Not just for me and you personally, but for everyone?
Right now is the chance to make our voices heard. A NO for the park means a YES to privately owned 10-acre estate lots and drastically limited public access. Forever. The Cape will no longer belong to us. (It actually never has, but the private land owners have been pretty darn gracious for a pretty long time.)
We all have concerns about implications and impacts from a park. That is completely understandable and reasonable. We can hash these things out. Metro Vancouver has pledged $40 million to protect and preserve this land for the public in perpetuity, and at least $15 million more to build the infrastructure to support park operations. This chance will not come again.
What I love about our community is how we look after each other, safeguard our quiet spaces, and share a passion for the natural beauty of our island. We have so much more in common than not. I’ve lived here for about 20 years and raised my kids on Bowen. I’m a single mom who just built a small house here and my plan is to stay forever til they wheel me away in a pine box (or something more compostable, I hope).
I have always commuted to the city and still do. I hate the ferry overloads and love this island as fiercely as any of us. I also managed our community farmers’ market with other volunteers for about 10 years and always found Metro Vancouver to be a sensible and open-minded partner to collaborate with. I support affordability, eco-diversity, sustainability, tolerance and transparency, equity and inclusion, empowering youth, and protecting our natural resources and wild spaces.
If you want to say NO to privately held land and YES to beginning a conversation about a park that we design together, please write your letter now to the Bowen Island Municipality (mayorandcouncil@bimbc.ca) and Metro Vancouver (bowenislandparkplanning@metrovancouver.org)
Our island will change, just like everything else in this world changes. Let’s shepherd that change in a hopeful, positive, earth-friendly direction that serves the greater good and sets an example of how other small communities might do the same. Thank you so much for listening to my point of view.
With respect and affection,
- Michelle (Elle) Pentz
Park Finances
The following is a summary of a letter sent to Council. It is not intended as a judgement for or against the park, but as information I hope will help inform the discussion.
After watching the Committee of the Whole Meeting on February 27, I was curious about the revenue implications over time of removing the 24 lots at The Cape from the tax role. After significant research and calculations, I discovered that over the next 10 years property tax on the vacant lots remaining would contribute $1.8 million to the municipality, and if developed over the same period, could contribute as much as $2.8 million.
Following are the assumptions used:
• Assumptions for BC Assessment
Increase in BC Assessment at two per cent annually.
• For the eight waterfront lots
Double the value of a lot when developed and develop one lot per year from 2026 to 2033. Development of the first waterfront lot would have a total assessed value of $7.220 million (land at $3.610 million and buildings at $3.610 million).
• For the inland lots
Increase the value of a lot when developed by a factor of 2.25, develop the first inland property in 2025, and develop two lots per year from 2026 to 2033. Development of the first inland lot would have a total assessed value of $2.760 million (land at $1.227 million and buildings at $1.533 million). Given the cost of building on Bowen and the likely aspirations of prospective buyers, these are conservative assumptions, although uptake on development could be slower.
• Assumptions for Property Tax
For the first five years apply the tax increase shown in the BIM five-year Financial Plan Draft with the 2022 mill rate as a base. Beyond the five years apply an increase of 4.0 per cent per year. Parcel taxes are not included.
Using these assumptions, with the 24 lots remaining vacant through 2033, the annual municipal tax revenue increases 87 per cent over the period while the total revenue gained over the 10 years is $1.8 million. With development over the same period, the annual revenue could increase by 292 per cent by 2033 and the total revenue gained over the 10 years could be $2.8 million. (Spreadsheet at homesonbowen.com/CRCpark)
Bowen Island has struggled with the cost of roads, water, and sewer for the last 20 years. With much of our aging infrastructure proving inadequate for our current needs, we are facing approximately $35 million in new capital projects recently completed or under construction, and the Snug Cove Sewer Treatment Plant, Municipal Works Yard, and Local Water Systems projects still to come.
A park at The Cape will represent significant infrastructure maintenance and replacement costs for the municipality. If the community decides the benefits of a park outweigh the downsides, in its negotiations with Metro the municipality should require compensation for the loss of significant tax revenue and ongoing contributions to mitigate what will be significant infrastructure costs.
The idea of the park is enticing but we must accept there will unintended consequences. If Metro is eager to preserve ecosystems on Bowen Island and provide opportunities for residents of the region to connect with nature, perhaps it should buy or partner with the Province to protect some or all of the 40 per cent of Bowen that is Crown land, thereby providing access to a truly significant park in the UNESCO Biosphere in a manner that will not forever change our fragile community in ways we cannot yet predict.
Sincerely,
- Tim Rhodes
Known and Unknown
We all know, including Metro Vancouver, that the launch of the Cape Roger Curtis Park project was not the ideal way to allow us to understand at the start that this was something to work with them on, not something being imposed on us. Unfortunately, the opportunity to purchase the land for a park came sooner than the process could be launched. Ever since they have been reaching out to collaborate.
I think of it as the “known” and the “unknown.” Human nature is to fear the unknown. To me, all those unknowns present a huge range of opportunities for solutions and improvements to issues that already exist and allows us, and council and the municipality, to envision, create and solve alongside an unparalleled experienced and motivated partner in MV Parks. But “NO!” is much easier than “yes”. “Yes” takes the belief in our own power and strengths to creatively solve these issues.
The “known” may feel safer, but in this case, the known is the undeniable - the devastation for the ever-dwindling incomparable beauty of this area of special coastal region. And it denies us and future generations access to the transformative experience of being immersed in nature in this beautiful spot.
The “known” is sentencing the land to 24 estates, inaccessibility, “NO TRESPASSING” signs, no collaboration with First Nations, and the allowable potential of 48,438 square feet of buildable area on each lot, including up to 20 additional structures - up to three stories high - as is determined by the current zoning.
The “known” is the countless trucks required to haul off the downed timber, and thousands of trucks of building supplies and trades people to build those structures – for many, many years to come, as well as the destructive impact on the land and water supplies for that scale of building and landscaping.
I assume most of us are here because of the natural beauty and the relatively rural atmosphere, with the added bonus of access to a major city, (and also why it is so desirable as a destination for a Regional Park). Many may own their little plot of land, but we are all still visitors. Every one of us arrived a stranger at some point and is now a treasured neighbour, friend, and member of the community.
I venture that families and those who choose to sleep in sleeping bags on the ground to have a more immersive nature adventure at a pre-reserved monitored campsite are good souls and create a far less invasive element than is feared. The fact that they don’t own a waterfront/forest-front home should not bar them and their children from the experience of visiting and sleeping in such a beautiful spot.
But more importantly, as a community with a governing framework, we are also stewards of the island. And as such, have an onerous responsibility to make wise decisions focused on its preservation for future generations in perpetuity. Decisions that were made decades, and in case, a century ago, often despite great resistance, for every municipal, city, provincial, state, and national park in North America.
I have walked in Crippen Park almost every day for the past 30 years I’ve been on this island, and it too was preserved by a dedicated group of people – which included what is now called Metro Vancouver, who understood the value of doing so. Watch Ken Burns’ “National Parks”. It’s very inspiring.
Transportation is the number one concern for both islanders and MV, who will be a highly motivated partner to help make it a reality. To date, that service has not been sustainable given its reliance on commuters only. The resulting two-way traffic with the park and commuters is key for both Bowen and MV for that service (and the park) to be viable.
To vilify Metro Vancouver as “the man” is misplaced anxiety in a turbulent time. And so far our treatment and response to them has been regrettably disrespectful. Front and centre for me will always be preservation - not of my lifestyle here - but rather of the rapidly dwindling precious rainforest and accessible natural spaces. Our time here is a blink of an eye. We hold responsibility to protect these areas now, or they are lost forever.
And in these ever increasingly anxious times, fostering opportunities that create positive experiences for individuals and families that are unparalleled by immersive time in the natural world is an important link in our health as a society, and in our future. We have the opportunity to “be the change we want to see in the world”, which may sound trite but is very real here.
- Shari Ulrich
