Council met for just over two hours during our Regular Council meeting on February 19, 2025.
My Mayor’s Report included the following:
- I had the honour of attending the official opening of Quw’utsun Secondary School. North Cowichan was proud to support this project, alongside the Cowichan Valley School District, the Province, Quw’utsun Nation and the broader community. Built on a 5.3-hectare site adjacent to Vancouver Island University’s Cowichan campus and the aquatic centre, the new, $86-million school replaces the long-serving Cowichan Secondary, and has 1,100 student spaces with room to expand to 1,500 spaces.
- Having recently been appointed to the Board of the Island and Coastal Economic Trust, I attended my first strategic planning session to set the organization’s priorities. The Trust will continue to focus its efforts on establishing a co-governance model with local First Nations and seeking recapitalization from the Province so that it can continue to support economic development projects across Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, including investments in infrastructure.
- Along with the other South Vancouver Island mayors, I wrote Premier Eby requesting that the Province not proceed with downloading police dispatch costs to our municipalities on April 1, 2025, which is contributing to property tax increases. We requested transition funding until a fair funding model is established, equitable treatment in line with other jurisdictions in BC, a provincial telecommunications levy to ensure sustainable long-term funding, and meaningful consultation with municipalities.
Staff Sergeant, Ken Beard, Acting Officer in Charge, presented the quarterly report from the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP for the period of October – December 2024. The full report can be read at: North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP quarterly report.
Amendments to three bylaws were adopted. The updates to the Delegation of Authority Bylaw, Fees and Charges Bylaw, and Development Procedures Bylaw give the Director of Planning and Building the delegated authority to approve or deny minor development variance permits and to collect the associated fees.
The Road Closure and Removal of Highway Dedication Bylaw was adopted. This bylaw will close and remove the dedication of portions of Paddle Road to facilitate a major housing development.
An amendment to the Fees and Charges Bylaw was given first three readings. If adopted at a future meeting, this amendment will establish resident rates to eligible veterans who wish to be buried in the veteran’s section at Mountain View Cemetery and have previously lived and/or paid property taxes in North Cowichan.
Council gave first three readings to the Revenue Anticipation Borrowing Bylaw. If adopted, this bylaw would enable North Cowichan to borrow money for a short term, if needed, to continue municipal operations while waiting for anticipated revenue (i.e. property taxes) to be received.
Staff presented a report on Low Carbon Fuel Standard credit aggregation, seeking Council direction on aggregating credits earned through B.C.’s Low Carbon Fuel Standards. Council directed staff to work towards an agreement with the Community Energy Association to act as a credit aggregator, and to direct credit sale revenues to the Climate Action and Energy Plan Reserve Fund.
The draft Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) Electoral Areas Official Community Plan was referred to Council for formal comment. Staff will provide a response to the CVRD on behalf of Council that will include the need for a Regional Growth Strategy, sanitary servicing needs related to growth for Areas D and E, natural asset policies requiring partnerships with other local governments, adding recognition of and support for the forestry and milling sector in the Regional Prosperity section, and updating wording related to North Cowichan’s Fire Department. Full details can be found in the staff report.
Council authorized the Mayor to respond to a letter received in January from the Honourable Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, explaining how North Cowichan considered the “Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing Policy Manual and Site Standards” in the recent update update of our Zoning Bylaw in response to Bill 44, and to seek clarity and further information about what specific concerns the Ministry has about North Cowichan’s compliance with these standards.
Council provided direction on the zoning approach for a parcel on Bare Point Road, one of a handful of “legacy zoned” sites that are identified for a zoning change to better align with the Official Community Plan. With the parcel subject to an active development permit application for commercial laundry, Council proposed a change from the current Industrial Light Zone (I1) to Chemainus Commercial Zone (C9) which provides for a variety of lower impact commercial uses generally consistent with urban residential areas. This site will be included within the “legacy zones” zoning amendment bylaw scheduled to come before Council for initial readings at a future meeting.
Council voted against submitting a grant application to the federal government that would fund up to 60% of proposed cycling safety improvements along Sherman Road from Somenos Road to Canada Avenue.
$165,000 in short-term borrowing was approved to fund the purchase of fitness equipment and construction of a secure compound at the Cowichan Aquatic Centre, which will provide secure and safe storage of municipal vehicles and equipment. The interest and principal payments will be paid for through the CVRD’s Regional Recreation Function.
Council also approved $339,830 in short-term borrowing to assist with the costs associated with the electrification of 12 light duty vehicles, a refuse truck and the installation of charging infrastructure. The lion’s share of these electrification costs are covered through grants from the provincial government and BC Hydro.
A new occupancy agreement was approved that will accommodate the RCMP’s non-municipal personnel within the new North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment building located on Ford Road. The agreement includes the cost-sharing responsibilities between the RCMP and North Cowichan as it relates to municipal and non-municipal RCMP use within the detachment for the operation and maintenance of the building as well as the debt.
Council agreed to grant $1,500 to the Chemainus Valley Historical Society to help cover some of the costs of Chemainus’ Canada Day community celebration. Staff were directed to use funds from Council’s travel/conference budget to support this initiative.
The meeting ended with a Notice of Motion from Councillor Caljouw that staff be directed to conduct a review of municipally owned properties to identify those that are surplus to the needs of the municipality, and to report back to Council with their estimated market values, potential uses, and recommendations. Council will debate this motion at the next regular council meeting.
The next council meeting is on Wednesday, March 5 at 5pm.
Thank you for reading and staying informed!
Rob Douglas, Mayor
Municipality of North Cowichan
T 250-746-3117
E rob.douglas@northcowichan.ca