Consensus isn't achieved very often in Britannia Beach.
But at a public hearing on Wednesday (June 16) residents agreed that a zoning bylaw proposed for the community is acceptable.
Those who attended were not surprised by anything new as the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) and the owner of Britannia's residential lands worked closely with residents to create the bylaw.
The bylaw will regulate things like permitted land uses, minimum parcel sizes, building heights, setbacks, site coverage, density, parking, grading, floor space ratios and secondary suites.
The meeting was held at the Britannia Beach Community Centre with an estimated attendance of 80 to 90 people. SLRD Area D Director John Turner chaired the meeting.
He said a number of written submissions were handed in to the SLRD before the meeting and about 15 people spoke at the public hearing.
"Nobody spoke in opposition at all," Turner said. "There were some concerns but the one person who had the strongest concerns said he supported the bylaw."
The person with the strongest concerns was outspoken resident Ralph Fulber, whose biggest concern is Hwy. 99. He feels that the highway needs to be relocated as part of the Sea to Sky Highway Improvement project. "With every new development on the highway down below it further cuts us off from the foreshore," Fulber said.
Fulber wants the provincial government to spend the extra money needed to push the highway along a bench that snakes to the east of the current residential area. A right-of-way already exists and when that right-of-way is put into use it will dissect the new neighbourhoods proposed by the new landowner at Britannia.
While the highway is a concern, for most residents the biggest issue facing the future of Britannia is the cost of housing.
The landowner, Rob McDonald's Britannia Bay Properties Ltd., plans to sell the lots that currently house the heritage homes and manufactured homes that dot the property. It isn't clear just yet what the individuals living in Britannia will have to pay to continue living in their community as negotiations between McDonald and the residents are ongoing.
According to Fulber, the developer is prepared to offer interest-free mortgages for the first five years for any residents interested in buying an established home. He said that even with preferential mortgage terms and a waiving of standard qualifying procedures, there are residents who won't be able to afford any kind of housing increase from the rents that are currently charged to the people who live there.
The housing cost issue, however, are unrelated to the zoning process.
Turner said that with the public hearing out of the way, the SLRD board will review the minutes from the meeting and vote on third reading of the bylaw at a meeting June 28.
