According to some Powell River Regional District directors, most people in the region’s electoral areas prefer not to have zoning bylaws. These elected officials contend people do not want to have local government restrictions on how they use their property.
While that may have been true in the past, more and more residents, particularly south of Powell River, are waking up to the consequences of no zoning. Residents are discovering that when a development contrary to the designation in the official community plan (OCP) is proposed, there is no process to address inconsistent land use and no authority that can stop the incursion.
There have been two recent issues in Electoral Area B that highlight this problem. One involved setting up a batch cement plant on a residential property and, more recently, there is a proposal to open a rehabilitation centre for women. While the facility is beneficial in a number of ways, it’s proposed for a home that is on a piece of property designated for residential use. Neighbours of the proposed treatment centre brought their concerns to the regional district August planning committee meeting, but it was pointed out to them that directors are powerless in the case because of the lack of zoning bylaws.
If there were a zoning bylaw, the proponents of the treatment facility would have to apply for a zoning bylaw amendment before they could proceed with their plan. The change in zoning would be advertised and residents in the neighbourhood would have an opportunity to express their concerns at a public hearing. Directors would then vote on whether to approve the change or not and would be held accountable for their decision.
Rural areas have planning, in the form of OCPs, yet the lack of regulation creates a vacuum. Without zoning, regional district directors can, and typically do, relinquish their responsibility to their constituents, along with any accountability. The process designed to protect neighbourhood values falls apart and it is the residents who are left without a voice and no meaningful process available to express their concerns.
