Parksville Coun. Amit Gaur would like the city to enact a low-density development land use designation for properties along the Englishman River and coastal floodplain areas.
Gaur said on the Regional District of Nanaimo’s side of the Englishman River the land is a low-density and low-impact area for development, but not on the Parksville side.
“There are parts of plots of land that belong to the city, within the city limits and by default they fall under the urban containment boundary,” he said during council’s March 4 meeting. “Meaning we can put higher density there.”
Gaur added his motion is meant to create a continuity of land use along the waterway, “which is important for the integrity of the river, of the natural systems and the wildlife corridor.”
Mayor Doug O’Brien said to include the required official community plan amendment for 2024 would result in a “monstrous tax increase”.
Earlier in the meeting, city chief administrative officer Keeva Kehler said the amendment would take up between 350 and 600 hours of staff time, and likely require hiring a senior planning or director.
City staff members are currently very busy, she added, and staff capacity is maxed out with tasks such as working on mandated requirements for the province’s housing bill.
O’Brien added a comprehensive water study currently underway will provide more information about the health of the river.
“Your request now to change it to low-density is in direct contradiction to what the provincial government is providing now,” O’Brien added.
Gaur said the contradiction with the provincial government’s housing bill was intentional.
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“I am trying to tell the province we don’t want to build high-density close to the river,” he said.
Coun. Sean Wood said he supports measures such as stormwater management and protecting the river, but is concerned about how Gaur’s motion could impact property values.
Wood added he believed the amendment could open the city up to possible legal action if property values are reduced since they will not be able to develop further.
“We are not down zoning any properties,” Gaur said. “Nobody’s going to come after us saying, ‘why is my property value lower?’ I think this is going for a vision, what we see in the future with the changing climate and the dwindling biodiversity.”
The OCP amendment would not automatically change zoning for land owners, according to Kehler. If the OCP is changed, property owners still have the right to apply for a zoning amendment, she added.
Gaur added the water study is a multi-year undertaking, so the results will not be available any time soon.
“And after that the OCP will take further, so we are looking at over, like past 2030 to have something happen in terms of land use or OCP changes,” Gaur said.
Coun. Mary Beil said the best time to look at the topics is during meetings to update the city’s OCP and that 2024 is too rushed.
A motion by Coun. Joel Grenz to defer Gaur’s motion until work plan discussions for 2025 was carried unanimously.