qathet Regional District (qRD) will grant a five-month extension to the deadline to meet conditions associated with an application for an official community plan and zoning bylaw amendment for a planned Nootka Street development.
At the October 25 regional board meeting, directors originally considered a six-month extension to the application process for 7406 and 7440 Nootka Street, but made the adjustment after reviewing dates of the application process to bring the application in line with an initial seven-month period that the applicant was granted, rather than a six-month period as stipulated with the original submission.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne, in whose district the proposed project is located, said at the October planning committee meeting that he was opposed to the extension for a variety of reasons.
“At the time I was concerned about potential legal risk,” said Gisborne. “My opposition at the time was because the request for extension had come in after the six-month deadline, so it is inconsistent with our bylaws and policies.
“Since that meeting I have had a lot more time to think about it. You have to weigh the public trust with us not following and adhering to our bylaws for development.”
Gisborne said the other risk was that the developer had been informed that the extension was given, but then it was corrected that the extension wasn’t given. He said giving the extension was not going to cause too much of an issue, although it continues on with the stress in the Nootka Street community, he did not want to open the regional district up to legal risk.
Gisborne said his one question, in looking at the staff report, it talked about giving a six-month extension, which would be March 22, 2024. He said since the board resolution was February 22, 2023, a six-month extension on top of the original six months would be the end of February 2024.
Manager of planning services Laura Roddan said she wanted to acknowledge the confusion over the date. She said the original board decision regarding the Nookta application dated back to February of 2023 and the date that went into the departmental work plan was September 22, rather than August 22.
“We have consistently communicated to the applicant that they had until September 22, and we have consistently communicated with the residents of Nootka Street who have enquired about the status of the application, quoting September 22; I realize that was an incorrect date,” said Roddan. “In light of that, an easy fix would be granting a five-month extension. That way, the applicant is not getting an unfair advantage.
“It is important for the regional board to recognize that under the Local Government Act, the landowner has the right to apply for rezoning. The regional district would be acting in bad faith to deny the application or the request for an extension without a valid reason.”
Roddan said the applicant had shown significant progress to meeting the conditions set by the regional board back in February and that is why the extension was being recommended.
Gisborne made an amendment to the original motion, recommending a five-month extension. The amendment carried unanimously. The board then carried a motion to grant the five-month extension.
Question period
During the board’s question period, Nootka Street resident Kathy Pedneault asked if in granting the extension, whether the board had considered the mental health and well-being of the Nootka area residents.
Gisborne said, speaking for himself, he brought that up at the planning committee in his original opposition to the extension.
Electoral Area C director and board chair Clay Brander said he was sure that many issues were considered by directors at the planning committee when the issue came before them.
Pedneault’s second question was: is the decision fair to all concerned?
Brander said that given the information the board has, speaking for himself, he believes the board made the best decision for the circumstances.
“We have to weigh all sorts of different priorities,” added Brander.
Pedneault said she was happy the extension was five months, but she is disappointed in the effort that the original six months brought about.
“This is weighing heavily on Nootka residents, our lifestyles and families,” said Pedneault. “I want to make sure everybody is thinking of the Nootka residents and the developer at the same time with the same weight and concerns.”
Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said the board had not lost sight of Pedneault’s concerns.
“Please don’t feel by extending the deadline that we are disregarding all the things that you and your fellow residents have had to say,” said McCormick. “Those are very much in our minds and will remain in our minds as we deliberate. Please don’t feel neglected.”
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