Sechelt council has voted to accept a donated work of art, which will eventually be displayed in the lobby at municipal hall.
The ceramic piece, by Sechelt-based artist Laurie Rolland, is called Wrapped Boat.
Arts, culture and communications coordinator Siobhan Smith told council that the work’s current owner felt Rolland’s work deserved to be displayed in a collection here on the Coast.
Smith said Wrapped Boat would be the first ceramic work to enter the collection the district has been building since 2005.
The piece is valued at $700 and Smith estimated a proper display pedestal and cover would cost about $350, which could be covered out of the 2020 operating budget.
Airport lease renewed
Councillors in Sechelt voted March 3 to renew the lease agreement with Elphinstone Aero Club for space at the Sechelt Airport, at a rate of about $0.28 per sq. foot.
The 20-year lease is back-dated to Jan. 1, 2019 and also continues the agreement that the district will waive payment of the rent in exchange for the club allowing its building to be used as the airport terminal.
The staff estimated the forgone lease revenue at $2,802 per year.
In a separate airport-related decision, council also voted to write a letter of support for Campbell River-based Cascadia Airways Inc., which wants to establish scheduled air taxi service.
“Our intent would be to provide scheduled services between Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, as well as to all airports on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast,” Cascadia chief operating officer Jeremy Barrett said in a letter to council.
Coun. Eric Scott, who chairs the airport committee and works for Harbour Air, said such letters are a requirement for applications to Transport Canada to allow scheduled services to be included in a company’s Air Operating Certificate and do not grant any sort of exclusive rights to the airline.
Council also voted to arrange a meeting with Cascadia’s executives to discuss their plans.
Acorn Road rezoning
After deferring the vote at its Feb. 19 meeting, Sechelt council returned to consideration of zoning and Official Community Plan amendments for a property on Acorn Road in West Sechelt at the March 3 meeting.
The changes would create a new RR-3 zone that will allow the property to be divided into four lots with the potential for a main house, secondary suite and cottage on each.
One amendment was put forward after the public hearing on the proposal – changing the requirement for a cash contribution for community amenities and affordable housing.
Instead of requiring the $22,500 be paid prior to adoption of the bylaw, council voted to put a covenant on the property, requiring the contribution to be paid before any subdivision, development, or building takes place on the land.
Councillors voted unanimously in favour of adopting the OCP amendment, but because of the deferred vote and amendment regarding the amenities payment, council was only able to vote on third reading for the zoning.
Coun. Matt McLean, who originally moved that the vote be deferred because he had not yet had adequate time to review the public hearing reports and related correspondence, was not present for the March 4 meeting.
