Following a public hearing that lasted more than two hours, input from staff and an hour of discussion by council, North Cowichan will be amending its Official Community Plan. The move will add another 100 acres to the urban containment boundary, north of Herd Road.
The decision paves the way for the West Vista Terrace residential and commercial development near the new Cowichan Hospital to proceed.
The vote was 4-3 with councillors Tek Manhas, Bruce Findlay, Becky Hogg and Mike Calijouw voting in favour of the amendment. Mayor Rob Douglas, Chris Istace and Christopher Justice voted against the amendment that staff warned would raise taxes and bog down developments that are currently in the works.
At the public hearing, many people spoke in favour of the amendment, citing the need for more housing in the municipality. Others spoke in support of the developers, John and Elaine Lichtenwald, who have been working on the concept for several years and have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The issue for many people who supported the Lichtenwalds was the fact that the 30-acre parcel of land they purchased was in the urban containment boundary (UCB) but was removed in the 2022 Official Community Plan. That was unfair, they argued.
“These guys were playing by the rules, they were part of the UCB and they got screwed,” Coun. Tek Manhas said.
Coun. Bruce Findlay said the development that could include a hotel, stores and homes, fits well into the Bell McKinnon neighbourhood close to the Cowichan Hospital.
“It cannot be this monstrosity of a hospital with just houses built around it,” Findlay said. “We need a hotel, or two or three.”
Mark MacDonald, the founder of the Business Examiner, urged council “to right a major political wrong” adding the reputation of North Cowichan was at stake.
“The rules were changed but now you can do the right thing and return the land to the urban containment boundary. You have an opportunity to say that North Cowichan is open for business.”
Coun. Chris Istace, a Chemainus business owner, who originally supported the plan but changed his mind based on reports from staff that said the infrastructure could not support a development like West Vista, said the time is just not right.
“West Vista is a beautiful plan. But we’re at an unprecedented time when our demands on staff are so great,” he said.
Istace also defended staff who were accused during the public hearing of writing reports that were motivated by some council members’ opinions.
Director of Engineering Clay Reitsma told council the municipality currently has 11,000 residential units with another 10,000 awaiting approvals. He said there “Is plenty of land in the UCB to accommodate growth.”
“The biggest problem is water licensing. The province controls that and no amount of money can fix that,” he said, adding the infrastructure challenges facing the municipality are daunting.
Speakers at the public hearing who did not support the amendment spoke of the need to honour the Official Community Plan.
Developers with projects set to go south of Herd Road, close to the hospital, spoke against the amendment, suggesting their developments would be threatened.
Speaking after the meeting, a disappointed Mayor Rob Douglas said those developers have legitimate fears.
“Staff had been focussing on getting those developments going,” he said. “Now there are going to be delays. One would think there will be two-year-delays, at least.”
The mayor also explained that the process for West Vista Terrace has really just begun with zoning applications and various permits yet to be approved.
“I think you can assume it will be five years, maybe longer,” Douglas said.