Bylaw No. 581 - Electoral Area D Wood Debris Removal Service AAP
Community
Area D
Type
Governance
Status
In Progress
Background
The Strathcona Regional District has historically applied when funding was available under the UBCM Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) grant program to fund a curbside wood debris chipping service in Electoral Area D. In those years when the wood chipping service was provided using grant funding, all road accessible properties were able to place an unlimited amount of wood debris at the end of their driveway for processing by the Regional District.
This service has had a high uptake from residents, with an average of 75 tons of wood debris being chipped each year. Since the CRI grant program cannot be relied upon each year to provide sustainable funding, the Regional District is asking electors whether they are in favour of establishing a service to provide funding when grant funding is unavailable.
*Note - wood chips produced using local funding are not subject to the same restrictions on use that are imposed when using CRI program funding.
AAP Public Notice
Public notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors for the Strathcona Regional District may proceed with final passage and adoption of Bylaw No. 581, being Electoral Area D Wood Debris Removal Service Establishing Bylaw 2024, at its meeting of Wednesday, February 19, 2025 unless at least 10% of the eligible electors within the proposed service area submit elector response forms not later than 12:00 noon on February 12, 2025.
Bylaw No. 581 would establish a service for funding the operation of a wood debris removal service within all of Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay-Buttle Lake).
The number of eligible electors within the boundaries of the proposed Electoral Area D wood debris removal service area has been fairly determined to be 3,383 and the number of valid elector objections required to prevent the adoption of Bylaw No. 581 without first obtaining the assent of the electors by voting is 339. Elector response forms must be in the form approved by the Regional Board and may be obtained online (see links below) or in person at the Regional District office during regular office hours. Only persons who qualify as electors within Electoral Area D of the Strathcona Regional District are entitled to sign and submit an elector response form.
Elector Response Forms
Elector response forms must be in the form approved by the Regional Board which are available below or in person at the Regional District office during regular office hours. Only persons who qualify as electors within the Electoral Area D of the Strathcona Regional District are entitled to sign and submit an elector response form.
An Alternative Approval Process (AAP) is used to measure the level of support from electors for a bylaw, contract, or other initiative being proposed by the local government. The rules governing the AAP process are contained in the Local Government Act of BC.
The Regional Board will typically advertise its intent and high-level information on the nature of the initiative and the financial impact on the community should the approval process be successful. The initiative is deemed to be approved by the community if less than 10% of electors submit a petition objecting to proceeding without a vote of electors.
The cost of an AAP is significantly less than seeking approval via voting at a referendum and is often preferred for that reason. If the AAP process isn't successful (at least 10% of electors submit written objection forms), the Regional Board then determines whether the proposal should be taken to a vote of the electors or dismissed altogether.
An AAP is truly an opinion poll in that the Board may either proceed to adoption if there is little opposition, or proceed with assent voting if ratepayer support is questionable.
Electors who are opposed to the Regional Board adopting Bylaw No. 581 without first obtaining assent of the electors by voting can submit a completed copy of the response form in person or by mail/courier to the Regional District corporate office at 990 Cedar Street in Campbell River not later than 12:00 noon on February 12, 2025.
The Regional District can only accept originally signed forms. Completed forms submitted by email or by fax machine cannot be accepted.
Following the deadline, each response form is reviewed by the Corporate Officer to confirm its authenticity and to verify the elector status of the person submitting the form. A report outlining the results of the alternative approval process is then submitted for consideration by the Regional Board.
Persons who support the establishment of an Electoral Area D Wood Debris Removal Service need not participate in the AAP since, by not submitting a response form, they are assumed to be in favour of the initiative.
There are other ways they can show their support such as sharing their perspective with others and what it means to them, their family, and the community.
Responses must be delivered to the SRD not later than the deadline, 12:00 noon on February 12, 2025.
The results of the AAP should be publicly available when the agenda for the board meeting is published on Feb 14, 2025. If the result is uncertain because voter eligibility has not been finalized, the results will be available on the March 2025 Board Agenda.
In those years when it's necessary to levy local taxes to operate the service without grant funding, it is anticipated that the average home would pay a maximum of $20 based on 2024 property assessments as determined by the BC Assessment Authority. Individual homes would be charged more or less than this amount depending on their assessed value, the amount required in that year to operate the program, and whether or not the SRD is able to secure additional funding to assist with program costs.
It is likely that the service would be offered to homeowners annually depending on its popularity. Since the degree to which the service would be used annually may vary, the SRD will need to access the demand from residents before determining the frequency of offering the service.
