North Denman
Lands Update – September 21, 2006
from the
Nielsens – Henning, Bente, and Tomas
After many months of exploring the land, and studying its sensitive areas and its capabilities, we are now able to brief our Island Trustees and the Denman community about the proposal for the north Denman lands (2444 acres in total). For your information, this update summarizes the questions we focused on when speaking to the Local Trust Committee at their monthly meeting on September 20.
Q. What are
the next steps for these lands and for the project that you are proposing?
In October, we will finally complete the purchase of the balance of the north Denman lands previously owned by 4064 Ltd. As soon as those titles are transferred, we will submit an initial application for a bylaw amendment to the Islands Trust. This will introduce a seven-month, open planning process during which Denman Islanders will have ongoing opportunities to evaluate the proposal, and provide input as a final plan is created. We would like to have a thoroughly considered final proposal ready to submit to the Trust in May of next year.
Q. What are
your group’s intentions?
Our
vision is to see these lands restored, protected, and managed in a manner that
sustains the rural character of Denman and returns some measure of ecological
integrity to a damaged landscape. We
intend that the project results in the creation of a major conservation legacy
for the Island, as well as some working landscapes that will benefit our
community in valuable ways.
Q. When are
you going to “say exactly” what you have in mind?
Our
initial application will state that 1238 acres of the total 2444 north Denman
land acres are to be donated as community lands, along with financial resources
for the development of a “community lands management plan.” Conservation,
recreation, agriculture, forestry and affordable housing are some of the issues
to be considered in this plan.
Also
explicit is that the rural residential and farm lots sited in the remaining
“private lands” are what provide the financial backbone for the overall
project, and will require a fixed total up-zoning of 64. If the up-zoning is
approved, this will bring the total allowable lot number for the lands to 96.
Q. How will a plan
that leads to the best future for the North Denman lands be completed?
Between
October 2006 and May 2007, we will work with community interests and other
agencies at all levels to produce an integrated plan for both the community
lands and the private lands. Everyone with concerns and ideas for these lands
will be welcome to participate.
We
believe that the result of the final plan will be twofold: one, a
well-considered, intelligent design for farms and house sites that will
re-invigorate the rural, agricultural roots of the Island and two, an
unprecedented designation of Gulf Island land for conservation and community
use. This final plan will be subject to the full and normal Islands Trust
process of public review: Denman Islanders and the Islands Trustees will be the
ultimate decision-makers.
Q. What do we
know about the lands so far?
- The biophysical
research commissioned to date assesses the land’s agricultural capability,
forestry capability, hydrogeology, slope stability, and sensitive
ecosystems. This research provides the basis for science-based land use
decisions (see www.northdenman.ca).
- The current zoning is a mixture of Residential,
Forestry, Rural Resource and Agriculture (see “Current Zoning” map on www.northdenman.ca).
- The current zoning of
the lands permits 30 residences on the 2444 acres. There are 2 additional
densities of the DCA settlement acres that by Memorandum of Agreement are
available for transfer to the north Denman lands.
- The proposed
designation of lands for public-community ownership is enabled financially
by an overall up-zoning of 64. If the proposed up-zoning fails to win
approval, the investor will necessarily revert to the “status quo”
scenario, putting all of the 2444 acres on the market in thirty or
thirty-two “large estate” parcels.
Q. What are
some of the questions that still need to be answered in this proposal?
- How will community
interests best be represented?
- What will be the
priorities for ongoing management of the community lands and how will
these be achieved?
- What are the best ways
to protect ecologically sensitive lands, on both the community and private
lands?
- How can various impacts
of the planned farm and rural residential lots be minimized?
- What are the
infrastructure choices to be made that will support environmental
sustainability?
Q. What values
do you expect the project to be judged on?
Throughout
this project, we will be guided by the following principles:
- To consider the north Denman
lands as a whole unit, to support their ecological integrity and recovery,
and to re-connect them with the surrounding landscape and community.
- To ensure that the
plan’s rural residential and farm lots are developed with sensitivity to
the community’s social, economic and ecological concerns.
- To make this a model
project that demonstrates how different interests can work together to
create a better and more sustainable future for our “home places.”
“…management of the land must be primarily orientated towards three goals
— health, beauty and permanence.”
E.F.
Schumacher - Small is Beautiful:
Economics as if People Mattered