Public hearing to be held March 20
Town Council has drafted new rules that will make Osoyoos a leader in protecting shoreline areas from the effects of development.
A new Riparian Development Permit Area amendment to the Official Community Plan (OCP) was given first reading at the March 6 meeting.
In addition, a public hearing on the new legislation was set for 7 p.m., Monday, March 20 in council chambers.
The purpose of the new Development Permit Area (DPA) is to protect the integrity of riparian areas from development through the implementation of the Provincial Riparian Areas Regulation (RAR).
The Riparian DPA will be inserted into the current OCP to meet the province's March 31 deadline and it will also be carried forward into the new OCP draft.
Mayor John Slater noted that approval of the DPA would broaden the town's legal mandate for dealing with all development applications.
Prior to the issuance of a development permit under the Riparian DPA, a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) assessment report, paid for by the development applicant, must be submitted first to the town before being sent on to the Ministry of Environment.
Councillor Stu Wells said he believed the town was leading-edge on the issue of being first to receive the QEP report for review.
Although we are not a granting authority for the legal side of it, we're getting that information back to our planning department and can make recommendations to the Ministry of Environment. There are major cities in the province that don't have this ability and we do. This is crucial, said Wells.
Councillor Allan Carswell said town planner Alain Cunningham has done a great job in taking the RAR and putting the Town of Osoyoos into the forefront of this legislation.
As Councillor Wells said, we're certainly one of the first communities to get it in place. And to have the QEP reports coming back to us rather than just being filed in Victoria is going to be a big advantage down the road, Carswell said.
