Open fire ban
Officials are bringing in a ban on open fires across the Coastal Fire Centre, including the Powell River Regional District, starting at noon on Friday, May 18.
Category 2 open fires and fireworks will be prohibited across the area, with the exception of Haida Gwaii and the Mount Waddington and Central Coast regional districts, and will be in place until September 15 or until the public is otherwise notified.
Specifically, the ban applies to:
• The burning of any material, piled or unpiled, smaller than two metres in height and three metres in width, including burning barrels.
• The use of fireworks and burn barrels of any size or description.
• Stubble or grass fires over an area less than 2,000 square metres.
Category 3 open burning, used for resource management reasons, is still allowed. However, a person conducting an open burn may only conduct one at a time and must first obtain a burn registration number by calling 1.888.797.1717.
The ban does not prohibit campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller. As well, it does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes. People lighting a campfire must maintain a fireguard by removing flammable debris from the campfire area and they must have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish the fire.
This ban covers all BC Parks and Crown and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of local governments that have forest fire prevention bylaws.
For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, readers can check online.
Traffe Road zoning
Powell River Regional District officials are holding a public hearing about a zoning bylaw for the Traffe Road area. The meeting starts at 7 pm on Tuesday, May 22 at the Therapeutic Riding Clubhouse, 4356 Myrtle Avenue.
The bylaw was developed as a result of a petition received from Traffe Road residents concerned about a community care facility in their neighbourhood. The zoning restricts land use and density in accordance with the provisions of the existing OCP (official community plan) for the area, which was adopted in 1989.
The majority of properties within the bylaw boundaries are zoned Suburban Residential, which provides for “spacious country living in a semi-rural setting.” One property within the boundaries is zoned Multi-Family Residential, to accommodate an existing apartment building.
The draft bylaw recognizes all existing secondary suites, but no new secondary suites would be permitted, since that would be in conflict with the density provisions of the existing OCP. The draft bylaw also recognizes an existing seasonal prawn sales operation and, according to a staff report, prawn processing is allowed as a home occupation through a liberal interpretation of the bylaw, as long as it is secondary to the residential use of the property. As well, processing continuing at the current extent of development and operation is safeguarded under provisions in the Local Government Act that address non-conforming uses and siting.
