Community Meeting for Cortes Zoning Bylaw update

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Around 60 people turned out for the Strathcona Regional District’s (SRD( zoning bylaw meeting in Mansons Hall at 1 PM on Wednesday, March 6. The meeting went very differently from how the SRD planned it. There was to have been a short presentation, after which participants were to have gathered around two maps and put sticky dots on the properties where the bylaws should be changed to allow for greater densification. Instead, this was a community conversation. There was undoubtedly some confusion as to whether it should be a meeting where the community asked questions, or a forum for them to express opinions. A variety of perspectives were given: some pointed to the need for more housing; others suggested the first step should be determining what the island’s carrying capacity in terms of water and other resources.SRD staff members Annie Girdler and Meredith Starkey added their expertise.