Short Term Rentals: Real action needed for rural areas
I sent the following letter to the Union of BC Municipalities and the Minister of Municipal Affairs on November 24, 2021. Dear UBCM, I am writing to express my disappointment in UBCM’s long awaited report …
Come Hell or High Water
This highly recommended episode of CBC’s Fifth Estate analyzes BC’s failure to plan for floods in the Fraser Valley. A similar scenario is playing out with stormwater management, except that responsibility for managing it hasn’t …
Emergency on the Sunshine Coast
Crews Fight to Keep Services Running Overnight on November 14 another “atmospheric river” hit the Sunshine Coast (the second in a month) with a nasty combination of torrential rains followed by high winds. On the …
Reed Road Forest Update
Due to many factors, including a provincial election, restructuring of FLNRORD (the ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources Operation and Rural Development), a federal election, and Covid, there hasn’t been a lot of progress in …
What happens at “secret” meetings?
I used to sit for long hours in the SCRD boardroom reporting for a local newspaper. Often we’d reach a point in the meeting where a motion was read: “that the public be excluded from …
Local governments respond to climate change
I was featured in an August 23, 2021 article in the Nelson Times. ‘We knew it was coming’: Climate Caucus responds to dire climate change report
Steps to a New Well
If you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably seen a post something like this: “My cousin Wayne borrowed a backhoe and scrounged up some pipe and he dug a well over one weekend for $100 including a …
July 2021 “Fringe” Roads Update
On July 14 I met with staff from the Town of Gibsons (ToG) and (Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) to discuss the Town’s plans for traffic calming on Gower Point Road, plus other transportation …
Curbside Recycling Pick-Up: Why Not?
Published June 2021, Updated April 2023 This spring a survey on curbside recycling pick-up received over 1700 responses—the largest public participation in an SCRD survey ever. So one thing is very clear. There are a …
Thrown Under the Ferry
News Flash: As of April 30 the Summer Trial has been cancelled. There’s been a huge outcry against the SCRD for “approving” BC Ferries’ summer reservations trial (see Coast Reporter article), so here’s some background. …