A new subdivision has been proposed for Roberts Creek on land once classified as Forest Land Reserve and adjacent to District Lot 1313.
The proposed subdivision would be located on a 40-hectare parcel north of Ranch Road and east of Sullivan Road, bordering Area E, Elphinstone. While the southern third of the land has already been cleared, the rest is forested by mature regrowth trees.
It borders long-contested District Lot 1313, which is used by residents as a park but which has been scheduled for auction by BC Timber Sales in January.
A report by Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) staff calls the subdivision proposal the “first of its kind,” referring to the fact that the land used to be classified as Forest Land Reserve until the provincial government dissolved the classification in the early 2000s. The SCRD board subsequently introduced RU4 zoning to keep the area compatible with forest use. The subdivision district zoning was changed to Z, which requires a 100-hectare minimum parcel size.
The proposed subdivision would require zoning changes to accommodate 12 rural-residential lots with a minimum size of one hectare, all of which would be built in the lower third of the parcel.
“Of all the zoning changes we made in and around 2005, this is the first time we’ve received an application to change the Z zone,” said planning manager Andrew Allen, calling it “a significant change in the zoning.”
As part of the application, the developer has included a community amenity contribution that would see the upper two thirds of the parcel given to the SCRD as a titled parcel, noting the community uses the informal trail network snaking through the area, which has been included in the draft route concept for the Suncoaster Trail. Another portion of the lot is leased to a wireless provider and contains a cell tower.
At the Nov. 15 planning committee, directors voted to allow the proposal to be referred to the Roberts Creek Advisory Planning Commission (APC) and Official Community Plan Committee for review before it comes back to the SCRD committee to be considered for first reading. “We’re taking this one step at a time,” Allen said.
Roberts Creek director Andreas Tize said he was in favour of continuing dialogue with the property owner, but was concerned with the one-hectare density of the lots since the surrounding density is 1.75 hectares or larger. “I’m wondering why we are going with smaller parcel sizes and whether the consideration that comes with smaller parcel sizes, like the density of wells, the density of septic systems and fire protection, has been considered.” He also asked about the cost to the SCRD for taking over the community amenity contribution.
Area E director Donna McMahon said Elphinstone residents are “incensed, to put it mildly” about plans for DL 1313 and requested that the subdivision proposal be put through to the Area E APC for consideration given its proximity to the district lot.
Staff will proceed with the referrals to the Roberts Creek and Elphinstone APCs and the Roberts Creek OCP committee and will be reporting back to the board at a future planning committee meeting in 2019.
