No development without hearings! -Times Colonist Thursday July 18th

The case for public hearings before prime Jordan River waterfront and forest land is developed has always been strong.
After the auditor general's report on the botched way the land was released from tree farm licence provisions, the need for public hearings is overwhelming.
The provincial government's actions and inactions have created a disastrous situation, removing all opportunities for rational planning and public input on the future of the lands. It's imperative that the development rush be halted and some semblance of a proper democratic process restored. TAKE ACTION The government has failed Islanders in two ways. Auditor general John Doyle reported that former forests minister Rich Coleman released the land from tree farm licences without adequate information on the costs and benefits. The ministry failed to consult with the Capital Regional District or communities that would be affected. For a copy of the report click here

The result -- as well as huge windfall gains for Western Forest Products -- was an unexpected, overnight land-use change that undermined all planning for the region. Thousands of acres that had been protected as working forest and green space were suddenly available for housing and other uses.

The auditor general found that even after the decision, the government failed to provide adequate information to local governments and other stakeholders about the implications.

The Capital Regional District ultimately responded by passing new zoning bylaws for the released lands, largely to allow time to assess how the prospect of thousands of new homes -- and entire new communities -- would affect existing residents, parkland, transportation and water supplies.

Shamefully, then community services minister Ida Chong allowed the new bylaw to languish in her ministry for six weeks before she signed it. That let Western Forest Products launch development applications for more than 300 acreage properties under the old rules.

The development decision will not be made by elected officials representing local communities. Instead, a single manager in the province's Transportation Ministry will decide on the future development of prime land along the coast, including Jordan River waterfront now used by the public.

It's undemocratic and wrong.

Chong's failure can't be undone. But the damage can, at least, be reduced. The Transportation Ministry manager who will make the decision has the option of holding public hearings to bring some accountability, openness and democracy to the process. Residents and the CRD have pressed for the hearings. So far, he has been unwilling.

The auditor general's report establishes the compelling case for public hearings before these projects are allowed to proceed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are asking everyone who cares about the future of this beloved area, and forests across the province to demand a public hearing and help shut down WFP's subdivision application. Together we can save this incredible area from sprawling development. TAKE ACTION

The Full Story:

On January 25 and 31 of 2007, the Minister of Forests and Range, Rich Coleman, deleted 28,283 hectares of privately held lands from within three Tree Farm Licences located on Vancouver Island. The deletions included thousands of hectares of some of Vancouver Island’s most beautiful lands near Jordan River, Shirley, and Otter Point. SEE MAPS While the owner of these lands, Western Forest Products, consulted with its shareholders about the proposed deletions as early as 2006, the provincial government failed to consult local municipalities, the Capital Regional District, or citizens of the region until the decision was a fait accompli.

This deletion not only undermined local control over land use, but reversed the very purpose of Tree Farm Licences themselves, which were established in the 1950s to ensure “permanent forestry on private lands.” In exchange for putting their private lands into TFLs, forest companies have been given decades of privileged access to far larger expanses of Crown timberlands. The historical bargain was that private lands located within TFLs would be governed by
provincial forestry regulations protecting both recreational values and forestry uses, and could not be developed for real estate. However, since 2004, the provincial government has undone this historic bargain between industry and government. Now that the companies have logged almost all the prime timber from Crown TFL lands, Government is allowing the companies to get out of their side of the bargain.

In the last four years Government has approved the removal of almost 120,000 hectares of private forest lands from TFLs across the province -- thereby allowing a handful of forest companies to realize quick profits by liquidating private forest lands for real estate development.

After getting their TFL lands deleted, WFP went on to strike a provisional deal with Vancouver developer Ender Ilkay for 2,500 hectares of land near Jordan River, lands which Ilkay intends to develop into a 10,000 person village. The lands include some of the Islands most spectacular coast and forest lands – lands that have been called Victoria’s Wild Coast.
Minister Coleman’s TFL deletion decision and the prospect of Ilkay’s development near Jordan River were greeted with public outcry and massive media coverage RECENT NEWS. In October, the CRD called on the Auditor General to conduct a probe of the private land deletions, and on November 1, over 500 citizens attended a public meeting to voice their concerns. When confronted in the Legislature about the lack of public consultation prior to the deletion decision, Minister Coleman assured the public that local planning processes would be relied upon to deal with these lands, stating:
They have to go through local zoning, and at that time there are public hearings and input from the public on the use of those lands.

On February 17, 2008, after a number of public hearings involving hundreds of citizens, CRD Directors responded to overwhelming public opinion that these lands should be preserved as forest lands. The CRD gave third reading to zoning bylaw amendments that imposed minimum 120 hectare lots for future subdivisions on lands located within these TFLs.
However, the Minister of Community Affairs failed to promptly sign the amendments into law. In April WFP applied to subdivide the lands, before the amendments were finalized, thereby “beating the clock”and bringing the application under the outdated zoning that allowed small lot subdivisions.

WFP’s subdivision applications are currently under the consideration of Bob Wylie, the provincial approving officer. This civil servant now has the authority to approve the application to subdivide. He now has the power to transform the landscape of our region with a single stroke of the pen.
WFP has stated that if their subdivision applications are approved, they will provide “no parks”—presumably, fencing the public out of the Recreation Site at Jordan River and other cherished places along the coast. Developer, Ender Ilkay, on the other hand, has promised to provide some public access and parkland, but only if the CRD accommodates his plan for 10,000 residents in Jordan River. Ilkay’s proposal, which flies in the face of the CRD’s Regional Growth Strategy, would increase urban sprawl, creating a commuter nightmare and exacerbating greenhouse gas production in the region.
The upshot is that an approval of WFP’s subdivision applications would result in two undesirable alternatives: local residents will either be fenced out of cherished recreational sites by WFP’s “no parks” plan or pressured to permit the construction of Ilkay’s ill-conceived city of 10,000 near Jordan River.

The Dogwood Initiative and a host of other groups are taking action to stop these subdivisions and provide the opportunity for public input promised by Minister Coleman.
Here’s how you can help!

TAKE ACTION