Three environmental groups are opposing an application to expand the City of Campbell River’s urban containment boundary (UCB).
The city received an application to expand the urban containment boundary to include three privately-owned properties south of Jubilee Parkway. As part of the process, the city will be holding a public hearing on May 1 at the Tidemark Theatre. The event starts at 6 p.m.
On Monday, Greenways Land Trust, the Campbell River Environmental Committee (CREC) and Stop the Sprawl shared a release outlining their concerns about the proposal. The release says that because of previous illegal dumping, a covenant was set to be established to protect the Jubilee Fen Wetland and surrounding area.
“This process, along with public reporting of annual restoration monitoring reports, has not yet been completed, putting this area at risk of further degradation during development,” the release says.
“City staff have confirmed as of April 11, 2024 that the covenants are not registered. In addition, there has been no reporting back to the public on the annual monitoring reports that were to have commenced once the restoration was completed” says Katie Lavoie, Executive Director, Greenways Land Trust.
CREC president LeRoy McFarlane sent a letter to Mayor and Council, which he also posted to Reddit on Sunday. McFarlane also questions the status of a conservation covenant that would protect 2.1 hectares of forest land near the boundary of the property. He says that the covenant would protect two existing endangered Trembling Aspen wetlands near Woods Creek.
The release from Greenways also questions the housing and infrastructure ramifications of the proposed expansion.
“The required conditions, which remain unmet, are critical to the amount of housing that can be built, making it uncertain in determining how this property can contribute to our housing requirements. Until these land issues are settled, no change should happen to the UCB in this area,” the release says.
An update to the City’s Official Community Plan (OCP) is scheduled for 2024 and 2025. That document is a high-level and visionary one, and has not been comprehensively reviewed since 2012.
“It is a much wiser option to wait until then rather than make a quick decision now,” the Greenways release says. “This delay will give the landowner further time to complete restoration obligations and give staff and the community a clearer picture of housing inventory and needs.”
McFarlane’s letter says that the UCB expansion doesn’t comply with the OCP, and that it “does not meet the expectation of (the Province’s) Housing Bill 47 which states development is to be in close proximity to transit.”
“A decision to expand into a greenfield area should not be taken lightly and should be done after careful consideration of Campbell River’s infrastructure, transportation, schools and other community supports” says Stop the Sprawl.
To help citizens of Campbell River and Strathcona Regional District Electoral Area D learn more about the process to date and to help them be prepared for the Public Hearing, Stop the Sprawl is holding an information meeting Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m. at the Sportsplex.
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