Residents of Nanoose Bay have signed a petition asking the Regional District of Nanaimo to rescind a proposed bylaw that would require homeowners to pay taxes for the Ravensong Aquatic Centre in Qualicum Beach.
The petition with over 500 signatures collected from Electoral Area E residents opposed to Bylaw 899.02, was presented to the RDN board during its regular meeting on March 28.
Shirley Vaux, who formed an ad hoc committee that reviewed the rationale behind the proposed bylaw appeared as a delegation on behalf of the residents.
“We have currently collected 554 signatures and 285 comments, and it’s going,” Vaux told the board. She also presented an overview of their research and their perspective to help some directors who are not familiar with the issue.
The Ravensong Pool was built in 1995 without the participation of Electoral Area E, who were against Qualicum Beach as the location of the aquatic facility. They favoured having it built in Parksville.
The referendum to approve the pool in 1993 that did not include Area E, Vaux indicated, did not overwhelmingly support the pool with 57.9 per cent in favour driven by votes from Qualicum Beach and Area G (French Creek, San Pareil, Little Qualicum, Englishman River).
Vaux told the board had Nanoose Bay residents been included in the referendum, they could have influenced the vote to the negative.
Since then, Nanoose Bay residents have not been paying taxes for the aquatic service. One of the major reasons they cited was the distance of the pool from Nanoose Bay.
“Distance matters,” said Vaux. “The reasons we are against amendment Bylaw 899 today are still largely the same. One, we live too far away to significantly use that facility and are still adamantly opposed to any tax participation.
“Two, forcing Area E to participate in the funding of such a distant facility is unreasonable regardless of your right to do so with the two-thirds consent vote under the Local Government Act. Three, being forced to subsidize other supporting areas who are the vast majority of the users of the facility is unjust and unfair.”
Vaux said residents prefer the private pools at Fairwinds and Pacific Shores, as well as the aquatic centres in Nanaimo, which she added are superior pool facilities.
READ MORE: RDN debate surrounding Qualicum Beach’s Ravensong pool drags on
“It’s less travel as it relates to the environment,” said Vaux. “We can stay close to home, and eliminate 70 kilometres of highway driving and emission for a single purpose trip.
Vaux also highlighted the RDN statistics in 2015 that showed Area E residents represent less than four per cent of the total pool usage. She said the one per cent represents only nine people from Nanoose Bay.
They would support the proposal to build a pool facility in Parksville, which Vaux said should have gone there in the first place and would have better served all residents in District 69.
Vaux told the board not to plough millions of dollars into a pool that does not serve the community adequately. The Ravensong Pool will undergo a $20 million upgrade.
“Consent to amending the bylaw by a vote of two-thirds of the participating board members on such a contentious matter is not only unfair but frankly heavy-handed,” said Vaux. “We take exception to the board’s agenda to push this through under the radar without engaging Electoral Area E.”
Electoral Area F (Coombs, Hilliers, Errington, Whiskey Creek, Meadowood) Leanne Salter asked Vaux whether they were in favour of a referendum.
Vaux said referendum has been discussed and considered. She is aware that some residents are in favour of referendum but the delegation are not.
“Our position has been slightly different, because we are against taking part in this in any way,” said Vaux. “And if there was a referendum, it would be made very clear that it would be in Area E only and not overall in the area because that’s a bit of a foregone conclusion when you put numbers against numbers.”
Last year, the RDN board considered a proposal for a bylaw amendment that would require Nanoose Bay property owners to be taxed for the operations and maintenance costs of Ravensong pool. The taxation formula suggested was 33 per cent assessment, 33 per cent population and 34 per cent usage.
An engagement plan was completed last year and a report is now set to be presented to the board at a special meeting to be held Tuesday, April 18 for consideration. The potential next steps for Bylaw 899 would be discussed. The meeting will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre located at 747 Jones St.
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