PORT McNEILL—The Regional District of Mount Waddington Board of Directors approved first and second readings of a pair of bylaws that will allow temporary use permitting and temporary dwellings during construction on Malcolm Island.
The board also set a date for a public hearing on the bylaws, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at the F.O. Hall in Sointula, during its regular monthly meeting in August.
The bylaws were developed by the RDMW planning committee, including Area A director Heidi Soltau of Sointula, after the Malcolm Island Planning Committee was approached in July by two joint landowners looking to undertake a temporary use not permitted under the current bylaw.
First and second readings were passed without comment by the board after Soltau made the initial motion to approve the two bylaws and three additional recommendations by the planning committee.
The other recommendations include a variance at Link River Campsite at Alice Lake to accommodate a proposed development by Brookfield Properties Ltd. and an addition to the Kwakiutl First Nation's Kipasse Reserve, which was referred to the District of Port Hardy as the property in question falls within that district's boundaries.
The RDMW planning committee reported its discussions on the Malcolm Island Zoning Bylaw determined the use of Temporary Use Permits (TUPs) were a "useful and flexible tool" that should be authorized for issue by the local government.
The proposed Bylaw 836 would allow for the issuing of temporary use permits in residentially related zoning categories, and establishes the parameters covered under the permits, which could not exceed three years.
The proposed Bylaw 837 would expand the residential zoning categories in which temporary buildings are permitted, while establishing setback provisions for accessory buildings and structures in commercial, industrial and institutional zones.
Audit OK'd
Auditor Cory Vanderhorst of MNP Accounting in Nanaimo enjoyed a very brief stay before the board after giving the RDMW's Annual Financial Report for 2011 a passing grade.
The RD at the end of last year held $14,338,892 in financial assets and $12,274,650 in liabilities for a net financial surplus of $2,064,242. Including non-financial assets made up of capital inventory, the District held an accumulated surplus of $15,328,644.
"In our opinion, these consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Regional District ... in accordance with Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards," Vanderhorst wrote in his opinion.
"Any questions for Cory?" deputy chair Dave Rushton asked the board. There were none.