8-to-7 RDEK vote hands Jumbo decision to Province – breaks public trust
Cranbrook, B.C. — The biggest land use decision the region has ever faced is being handed directly to the Province after RDEK directors voted eight to seven on a controversial resolution.
The resolution, brought forward by Sparwood mayor David Wilks, was that the RDEK ask the Province to legislate the proposed Jumbo Resort site as a Mountain Resort Municipality, skipping over the rezoning and public consultation processes.
14 people made presentations to the board before the vote, including John Bergenske of Wildsight. But even though questions were raised and flaws in the process itself were pointed out, the final vote was in favour of the resolution.
“This is a stab in the back of East Kootenay residents,” said John Bergenske, executive director of Wildsight. “It’s an abdication of responsibility by the directors who voted for it.”
Bergenske added that Jumbo Glacier Resort (JGR) proponents have not yet requested the necessary rezoning they would need to go ahead with the massive real estate development.
“Right now, the land is not zoned for resort development. This overrides the regional district zoning process — it recommends a noncompliant use of the area without the required public process that any other developer would have to go through. I’m very disappointed.”
Also disappointed were the ~140 people who sat on the lawn outside the regional district office listening to the meeting on loudspeakers, the nearly 1,000 members of Wildsight, the 1,500 members of the Jumbo Creek Conservation Society, and, as indicated by the two most recent polls on the matter, about 80 per cent of the Columbia Valley population.
“This is the first time the RDEK hasn’t followed its own process for rezoning in this way,” Bergenske said. “Does it mean that anybody who wants to get around rezoning can apply to be a resort municipality too?”
If and when the Province goes ahead with the move, there will be just two bona fide resort municipalities in the province: the Resort Municipality of Whistler, and the Resort Municipality of Jumbo. In the case of Jumbo, governance would be by a council of local people, appointed by the Province.
“What local people?” Bergenske said. “How many permanent residents are there in these places?”
Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft, who spoke at length in opposition to the motion, noted that in the last election there were just 28 full-time residents — eligible voters — in nearby Panorama Mountain Resort, a resort that has existed for decades. “In Jumbo,” he said, “there is no eligible electorate, nor is there likely to be.”
Taft also pointed out that the reason the whole Jumbo question has come to this far is because the Province mishandled the file from the start.
“Yes and no should have been debated before the proponents did their in-depth technical reviews,” he said.
Meredith Hampstead, representing the Jumbo Creek Conservation Society, questioned how the governance of a future Jumbo resort municipality would work. “Will this be a provincially appointed fiefdom dressed up as a municipality?”
After the vote, Columbia Revelstoke MLA Norm MacDonald said that the disappointing vote was “by no means the end.”
“Yes, it’s a sad day,” he said. “It’s a sad day for some of the elected officials who have turned their backs on their constituents. The public will is clear. The vast majority are against it. Those who voted for it have betrayed the majority of people who live here.”
A question expressed by many delegates and attendees after the vote was summed up by Bergenske: “Why are RDEK directors bowing to the Province rather than listening to the people they are here to represent?”
VOTE RESULTS:
Four out of five directors from the Columbia Valley voted against the resolution.
They were: Gerry Taft of Invermere; Wendy Booth, Area F; Gerry Wilkie, Area G; and Ute Juras, Canal Flats. Other ‘no’ votes came from Heath Slee, Area B and Cindy Corrigan of Fernie.
Voting yes were: Scott Manjak and Liz Schatschneider of Cranbrook; Jim Ogilvie of Kimberley; David Wilks of Sparwood; Dee Conklin of Radium; Mike Sosnowski, Area A; Rob Gay, Area C; and Dean McKerracher, District of Elkford.
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About Wildsight
Wildsight works locally, regionally and globally to protect biodiversity and encourage sustainable communities in Canada's Columbia and southern Rocky Mountain region. This area is internationally recognized as a keystone to conservation in western North America. For more information, please visit www.wildsight.ca.
Contact:
John Bergenske, Wildsight program manager
1.250.489.9605 • john@wildsight.ca
