Electoral Area C Wharves Service Alternative Approval Process – Update

The results of the alternative approval process (AAP) for Bylaw No. 487 which proposes to establish a service for funding the operation and maintenance of wharves infrastructure in Electoral Area C (Discovery Islands-Mainland Inlets) was discussed at yesterday’s board meeting.

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) has been provided funding from Transport Canada for wharves upgrades to Owen Bay (on Sonora Island), Surge Narrows (on Read Island) and Port Neville (in Johnstone Strait).  Transport Canada divested these three wharves to the SRD in 2014 and provided funding to operate and maintain the wharves for ten years.  The deadline to complete necessary wharf upgrades using the Transport Canada funding is fast approaching.

To comply with statutory requirements, the SRD needed to establish a wharves service before spending funds and completing upgrades to fund future operations and maintenance of these assets.  For the SRD to continue to operate and maintain the three Transport Canada Wharves, the SRD decided to gauge the level of community support for a wharves service through an Alternate Approval Process (AAP) which was initiated on June 21, 2023.

The AAP elector response period ran for 35 days in total and closed on August 3, 2023. A minimum of 242 elector responses (10 % of Area C’s elector population of 2,419) would be required to prevent the adoption of Bylaw No. 487 without first obtaining approval of the electors by voting (referendum). At the conclusion of the AAP response period, 418 elector response forms were received by the corporate officer, of which 385 were confirmed as valid.

The results confirm that the Board cannot proceed with the adoption of Bylaw No. 487 at this time. The annual residential tax rate was estimated to be less than the max of $0.0848 per $1,000 of assessed value. As an example, the average home in Area C is valued at $639,400, with a residential cap of $0.0848 per $1,000, the annual requisition would have been $54.22.

Given the results of the AAP, the Board determined the next steps will be discussed with Electoral Area Directors at its next Electoral Area Services Committee meeting September 13, 2023.

Information about the defeated alternative approval process and proposed wharves service can be found at www.srd.ca/proposed-wharves-service-initiative.

Media Contact
Tom Yates – SRD Corporate Services, Senior Manager   250-830-6704   |   tyates@srd.ca