The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is awaiting word on its application for a “significant” Union of BC Municipalities grant to draft a community wildfire protection plan.
In a presentation to Gibsons council on Feb. 18, SCRD’s manager of protective services Matt Treit said the plan would include strategies for forest fuel mitigation in areas at high risk for interface wildfires, but going forward with that work will require further funding.
Treit also said recent fires like the 2015 Old Sechelt Mine fire and last summer’s Cecil Hill fire in Pender Harbour point to the need to move ahead.
“It’s become more apparent that wildfire risk in coastal areas is something that’s increasing in probability and I think that would probably speak to why in the past there hasn’t been a wildfire protection plan done for this area,” said Treit.
At the end of Treit’s presentation, Mayor Bill Beamish announced that the Town has received a $9,000 grant under the community resilience investment program to host a community dialogue on the FireSmart program and community wildfire protection on March 10.
Treit will be presenting at the event along with representatives of the Gibsons Fire Department and the BC Wildfire Service.
Davis Road
Despite some objections raised about increased density and the increase in traffic on a dead-end street at a public hearing just before their Feb. 18 meeting, Gibsons council has given third reading to zoning and Official Community Plan (OCP) amendments for a property at 931 Davis Rd.
The owners want to renovate the existing home into three separate suites and convert the detached garage on the property into a garden suite.
Under the current zoning the property is single-family residential, but it has an OCP designation that allows for future rezoning to medium density residential, which would allow for townhouses, stacked townhouses and even two- to four-storey apartment buildings.
Coun. Aleria Ladwig cited that as one of the reasons she was prepared to support the rezoning, which she described as a “down zoning” given the potential density that could have been applied for.
“It provides affordable housing options that are privately owned… A lot of municipalities are moving toward zoning opportunities that enable private residences to have secondary suites and more duplexes and triplexes and these types of housing options,” she said.
Councillors Stafford Lumley and Annemarie De Andrade voted against the rezoning application, which still has to come back to council for final adoption.
Public Art
Gibsons council has approved terms of reference for a new public art advisory committee.
The tasks set for the committee include strengthening and enhancing civic pride and the identity of the community, recognizing and preserving the town’s cultural heritage and artistic diversity, engaging the community in discussions and decisions regarding public art projects, incorporating artwork and beautification in both public and private developments of significance, and leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.
The committee can have up to seven members, with one from council and one to represent the Gibsons Public Art Gallery. The remaining positions will be filled by the public at large.
The Town intends to start advertising for those positions right away.
Mayor Bill Beamish, who first proposed forming the committee, will sit as the council representative with Coun. David Croal as the alternate.
