One issue currently before City of Powell River council is raising concerns about fiscal responsibility and the city’s commitment to deliver results on its long-term goals. Proposed Bylaw 2459 would rezone a six-acre parcel of farmland next to Oceanview Education Centre from large lot rural (A2) to single-family residential (R1). If approved, the land will become 15 lots for high-end homes, resulting in a significant increase in the property’s market value.
The public hearing on this lasted 14 minutes and a written submission critical of the proposal was not read out as per previous city practice. After two readings and the public hearing, it was apparent some council members had not thoroughly viewed the property in question, nor do city staff routinely advise council members to visit these sites. This, it seems, is how important land-use decisions are being made.
Council recently adopted a sustainability plan, including a goal to increase local food production. Such targets, however, cannot be achieved without meaningful action, and on food security the city has yet to deliver. A lot of promises and rhetoric, yet here is council on the verge of sacrificing a rare piece of actual farmland in the city.
The city’s narrative is that this rezoning will help alleviate a shortfall of housing. However, the homes built there will be expensive ones, which fails to address the actual local crisis of a shortage in medium-to-lower-cost housing supply.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this proposal is how it would benefit the developer while depriving the community of its rightful claim to a significant financial gain from the rezoning.
Who has the right to any windfall here? If an investor pays the much lower price for an A2 property, then should it not be the city that earns the profit resulting from a rezone to R1? The proposed $15,000 donation from the developer, in return for rezoning approval, is an insult to residents, as it amounts to an insignificant fraction of the expected increase in property value.
If the city is bent on converting farmland to a subdivision, then it should be retaining most of the increased market value and using it to pay for much-needed services it currently tells us it cannot afford to provide. This represents hundreds of thousands of dollars that council seems willing to hand over to a developer who never paid the R1 price in the first place.
The city has another option, that it has so far neglected to pursue: it could allow the property to be rezoned into five small lot rural (A1) acreages, which could support both housing and food production.
The result would be a win-win: a chance for council to achieve actual results toward its long-term goals, and the opportunity for the developer to make a fair return on their initial investment in A2 land.
Will this council do the right thing? It really depends on whose interests they aim to serve.
Rob Krausz is a Powell River resident with a personal and professional interest in community-building and governance.
