qathet Regional District’s (qRD) committee of the whole is recommending the regional board approve construction of the School District 47 Powell River outdoor learning centre waterfront enhancement project.
At the August 12 committee of the whole meeting, Chris Roddan, who worked on the project as a consultant with Shearwater Services, said the company was contracted by the school district’s outdoor learning centre to put in a floating dock facility for use at the centre.
“The purpose of this facility was to enhance the opportunities for the children and people using the facility so they would have better access to the water,” said Roddan. “As you are aware, Powell Lake is actually a reservoir managed by Evolugen for the purpose of producing energy. As a result, the lake can fluctuate during the year by as much as 4.5 metres, which means a beach facility is difficult for the outdoor learning centre to manage.”
Roddan said safety is also a big consideration for the proposed installation of the floating dock facility.
He said the project’s proponents had previously come to the qRD explaining that an application would be put in for this dock facility.
“The purpose of this meeting is to come back to you and give you an update of where things are at,” said Roddan.
Brian Smart, who is a professional biologist working with the project, provided a presentation to the committee with an update on where the school district proponents are with the permitting and environmental aspects of the project.
Smart said the outdoor learning centre at Haywire Bay on the east shore of Powell Lake is about a 15-minute drive from Haslam Street in Cranberry.
He said the dock installation is going to be approximately where the current swimming area is. He added that the lake fluctuates quite a lot and at times it is quite low. It is not a very good swimming area at that time, he added, because there’s a little bit of logging debris.
“It would be a vast improvement to have a dock there, an all-abilities dock, to let children and people enjoy the water at the outdoor learning centre,” said Smart.
The dock is about 120 square metres in size, and Smart said it has been designed to accommodate fluctuating lake levels.
Four agencies involved
The proponents had to deal with four agencies to get permitting for the project. Smart said it was a comprehensive application because the project was expected to have some impact on fish habitat, although it’s not likely to result in the deaths of fish. There was a list of conditions that had to be met during construction, according to Smart.
“We did get approved by the department of fisheries and oceans and it includes a lot of construction impact mitigation measures to be undertaken, as well as the requirement to have an environmental monitor onsite during the construction phase,” said Smart.
He said the developers are ready to start planning the construction timing and to consider logistics, contractor availability and materials.
City director George Doubt said he saw in correspondence a request for final approval for the waterfront enhancement project. He said it had been a long time since April 2020, when an original presentation was made to regional district directors, and he didn’t remember the details. He asked if the cost of this project and the construction was being borne by the school district and supplemented by various grants. He said as he understood it, there would be no cost to the regional district.
Regional district manager of planning service Laura Roddan said that was correct.
Doubt said he wanted to make sure. He said he is in favour of the regional district providing a letter of support.
Electoral Area A director and board chair Patrick Brabazon said he wanted to hear from staff, confirming this project is entirely within the tenure of the regional district.
Manager of operational services Patrick Devereaux said the project was entirely within the regional district’s foreshore lease.
The committee unanimously recommended that the regional board approve construction of the School District 47 Powell River outdoor learning centre waterfront enhancement project as outlined in a letter from the school district dated April 30, 2020.
