Monday, July 26, 2010

Kensington Island Properties

The CVRD has received a major development application that is situated in and around the Union Bay area. The application is commonly referred to as Kensington Island Properties and has been considered in various forms for a number of years.
On April 27, 2010 the board approved the amendment of the official community plan and the zoning bylaw to accommodate the development. Below are links to a variety of documents and other web pages that provide history and context to this development proposal.


Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Long-Awaited Tourist Centre

$3 million for long-awaited tourist centreMarcel Tetrault, Comox Valley Echo
Published: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The discovery of a $3 million pot of cash will finally allow the long-awaited North Island Discovery Centre to be built.

Vancouver Island North MP John Duncan announced the federal contribution to the project today (Tuesday) in Cumberland.

"This has been a hard slog," said Duncan. "There's a long history to this project. It's not only a great project for the Comox Valley, it's actually good for the entire riding.


Politicians across the North Island have been pressing for a tourism and information centre at the Comox Valley interchange on the Inland Island Highway ever since the new highway was first announced more than 20 years ago.

Duncan said the Inland Island Highway has changed the "dynamics" of the North Island and the Courtenay-Cumberland interchange has become an important geographic location.

"This discovery centre ... will really channel and funnel and provide options for people in a focused way," said Duncan. "It will mean that visitors spend a lot more time here and the time they spend here is more interesting.

"That's obviously going to be very good for all of the communities."

According to a 2007 presentation by economic development officer John Watson, the timber-frame structure would be set up as a series of buildings with the form and character of mining camps to reflect the economic history that drove early growth in the region.

The centre could include a building to showcase local industries, a main exhibit gallery that provides information on local ecology and resources, another building to showcase First Nations culture and more.

Outdoor courtyards with raised walkways are envisioned as well as interactive displays.

"Every aspect of tourism will be covered, right from our water sports, our terrestrial sports below the snowline, our mountain events and our marine stuff," said Duncan. "There are just so many things to do.

"People should be left with the thought that they're really going to have to pick and choose, as opposed to grappling with how they're going to spend their day."

Duncan said the discovery centre would be developed in a modular way, with the capability to expand and grow into the future.

While a construction start date has not yet been set, Duncan said the project has to be substantially complete by March of next year, so work will have to start soon.

The project is expected to be built on part of the Trilogy lands at the interchange.

"It will be a Crown jewel for the Comox Valley and the North Island," said Duncan.

The discovery centre, projected in December 2007 to cost about $5 million, also has a $750,000 funding commitment from Island Coastal Economic Trust and another $600,000 from the three local municipalities. In December of 2005, the centre was projected to cost $2.49 million.




© Comox Valley Echo 2010

Trilogy receives go-ahead - By Colleen Dane - Comox Valley Record

Nearly four years later, the Trilogy Properties 760-acre project for Cumberland’s Interchange Lands has been given final approval.

The 13 zoning and Official Community Plan amendments got fourth reading and approval at the village’s council meeting Monday evening.

“I’m feeling very, very excited about the future of the village,” said Mayor Fred Bates, who voted alongside Coun. Leslie Baird and Coun. Bronco Moncrief to approve the changes.

“I think we have a great potential for a great future — and I think not only the village, the Valley,” he said.

“I think that the route we’re taking has got to happen,” said Moncrief.

Their opinions weren’t shared by all around the table. Coun. Kate Greening and Coun. Gwyn Sproule voted against all of the bylaws.

“The Trilogy development goes against all the key policies of the OCP,” said Sproule in her comments before voting. I believe that if these bylaws pass we will be giving away much of what the community values.”

“Part of what this is doing is killing a dream — we were a cutting edge village,” said Greening. “We had a dream that the first developer just got to completely trash — it’s a sad day.”

The Trilogy development began its public process in March 2006, with public meetings introducing their conceptual plans for the large tracts of land on either side of the Inland Island Highway.

They proposed a series of mixed-use developments — ranging from a walkable-centre at the northeast corner of the interchange, to larger-lot residential over near Royston Road.

At the time, they said they hoped to be building on two of the lots by the end of that year.

The community fought over the idea, though — some saying it was needed for revitalization of the village that has been struggling financially for years.

Those against, though, argued the OCP was new and shouldn’t be changed. They argued that by extending the residential containment boundary, changing commercial properties to residential and removing land from working forest status were all against the village’s best interests.

The following four years saw some bylaws move forward, then stop, then others move forward, and stop. Trilogy slowed its advance for awhile when the market was really unclear and the village had to review its process after legal advice suggested different tactics.

After years of process, the debate began to wane, too.

The first public hearing for the Trilogy project in November 2006 brought out around 200 people, with a 780-signature petition against the project. The last, in November 2009 had only 25 people attend.

Bates said that the process was a good one — though admittedly, long. It gave people the opportunity to raise concerns, which he said helped create a better project.

“I think they were all heard — I think they were all well heard,” said Bates.

Trilogy — or whoever develops the land — will still have to apply for development and building permits before any work can happen on the property.

John Evans, CEO of the company, wasn’t available for comment before deadline.

reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com

The Beautiful Comox Valley

The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fanny Bay, Black Creek and Merville. The communities of Denman Island and Hornby Island are also considered part of the Comox Valley. The Comox Valley is listed as being the 59th largest metropolitan area in Canada.

The region is one of the fastest growing in British Columbia. Its growth is mostly due to a building boom in Courtenay, but other parts of the area are being suggested for development, including Cumberland and Union Bay. The area is best described as a postmodern society in which service jobs have exceeded 50% of the employment opportunities. The growth industries are tourism and construction, with the Canadian Forces in the form of CFB Comox having long provided significant economic stability since the decline of logging and mining in the region after the 1960s and fishing in the 1990s.
Originally developed as an agricultural settlement in the 1860s in the wake of the Fraser Gold Rush, the area became the centre of one of the British Empire's largest private railway concerns, the Comox Logging & Railway Company. Comox Logging owned Block 29, one of the world's best stands of Douglas Fir timber, stretching from south of Courtenay well to the north of Campbell River. This stand is now owned by TimberWest and is being cut for the second time. For many years, logging provided the largest single paycheque in the community, but since most workers in the industry commuted to camps and logging operations further north on the Island or the mainland Coast, the Field lumber mill in Courtenay was disassembled in the fall of 2006. The legacy of the Comox Valley's once proud forests is scattered amongst small woodlots on individual farms, or in isolated parks that give a sense of the timber wealth once drawn from the region.
The wealth of today lies in its combination of natural beauty and rich cultural scene. Besides the many music and arts festivals the region has a legacy of dramatic and musical instruction in its high schools and through the Comox Valley Youth Music Centre (CYMC), which draws students from around the world. The community is also rich in its numerous volunteer and non-profit organizations devoted to cultural pursuits. The many small communities in the region also boast a wealth of education and skills, and a devotion to 'place' that gives each neighbourhood and hamlet an inviting texture and atmosphere. For these reasons, as well as relatively mild (for Canada) climate, the Comox Valley is very attractive to people looking for small town and rural alternatives to suburban homogenization and urban congestion. With air service direct to Calgary and points south and east, as well as Edmonton, Albertans have in recent years become a major driver of the real estate and population boom.
The Comox Valley's most recent claim to fame is having been home to Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld, another of the Valley's musical talents.
In 2008 the area was designated one of Canada's "Cultural Capitals."