Perspectives on Lantzville/Nanaimo Water Deal Machinations

Well, by now Lantzvillagers should know that, at their regular meeting on Sept. 8th, Lantzville council, with only Councillors Mostad and Haime dissenting, voted to accept the modified agreement with Nanaimo for them to provide us with bulk water. What you may NOT know, is exactly how it happened! Do you remember those 'Community Update's that we receive from the District on a regular basis'? Well, the District had been telling us that the draft water agreement continues to be discussed with Nanaimo and, before any agreement would be signed for the provision of bulk water to Lantzville, there would be extensive, public consultation in the form of information circulars and meetings.

At their regular council meeting on Sept. 8th, before any of that consultation had occurred, Lantzville council decided to add the water agreement to the Agenda (meaning that no one who had been checking the District website to see what would be on that Agenda would have had any idea that the water agreement would be dealt with). However, given that the meeting was a 'full-house', it appears that a limited group of individuals were told in advance what would be transpiring at that meeting. As if all this wasn't bad/undemocratic enough, earlier in the summer, Lantzville council had negotiated some changes to the draft water agreement with Nanaimo, one of which took away the requirement that the residents of Lantzville would get a vote on whether or not to accept the water deal. Now I can already hear their bleating - 'since there was no capital expense involved, the water deal didn't have to go to a referendum vote'. Well, I can only see two things wrong with that assertion, the first being that there will be a significant expenditure to construct the actual connection to Nanaimo's water system and the second is that, even if it wasn't legally required, given the massive impact bulk water would have on our community, a vote was ethically and morally necessary.
In the recent Community Update specifically on the water agreement, Council says that the reason they signed the agreement without the promised public consultation was that it gives them the opportunity to obtain bulk water from Nanaimo but that is NOT an answer to the question posed! I would ask why they were in so much of a hurry to sign the agreement that they took the very undemocratic approach detailed in the preamble above. Did they have any specific reason to believe that the agreement would not be there next week, next month or next year, after the promised round of public consultations were completed? For my money, I believe that they were motivated by councillor Haime's remarks back on Nov. 28/11 that "there will be no change in service in the District over the next 3 years and everyone she's talked to wants stagnation for the next 3 years" and they desperately wanted to prove her wrong, sadly at Lantzville's expense!

Following are links to local media stories (just click on the ones of interest to you) about the water situation in Lantzville, the water agreement with Nanaimo and Letters to the Editor on same, as well as comments that I posted to the sources' website. Note that the Nanaimo Daily News does not routinely provide the ability for people to comment on their on-line articles:

Lantzville residents raise concerns over water deal with city

Lantzville should source its own water (Letters to Editor)

Lantzville's water issues misunderstood (Letter to Editor)

Lantzville councillor suggests sending water deal to referendum


   Lantzville Council would do well to listen to what the residents have told them in the Citizen Satisfaction Survey on water. Of those on wells who responded, only 13% [24] say they are dissatisfied/very dissatisfied with the quality and only 12% [22] say they are dissatisfied/very dissatisfied with the quantity of their water.
added 14 10 24 - Not meaning to ignore the feelings of those ~880 homes currently on the community water system, consider carefully the following results (also from the Citizen Satisfaction Survey): when asked if they supported an expansion of their water system, 28% [75] said 'YES', 39% [106] said 'NO' and 33% [88] said 'MAYBE' and/or offered feedback/comments. Also, of those on wells who were asked the same question (presumably to be able to supply water to their properties), 27% [39] said 'YES', 32% [47] said 'NO' and 35% [51] said 'MAYBE' and/or offered additional clarifying comments. While the District could have done an extensive 'water survey' to fully define the 'problem', they have chosen not to. Given the above data, at the present time there is no overwhelming evidence to support bringing bulk water to Lantzville!!!
   Under the Haime administration, all taxpayers of Lantzville have already contributed $200,000 to the City of Nanaimo just for the 'opportunity' to discuss emergency water with them plus ~$80,000 over 9 years to the City's Port Theatre just to be able to continue to talk water, with another request expected any day. Then there is the $78,000 those on the water system have also paid for an emergency water connection, which has yet to be used 7 years later. So, we have already paid dearly to the City without a drop of water actually having been delivered.
   Let's not forget that it was Lantzville council who brought in the requirement that the minimum size of property created without BOTH municipal sewer and water services would be 1 ha (2.47 acres), a requirement which 'motivates' vacant landowners to look favourably on the need for municipal sewer and water services.
   Given all of this, I think that a frank and open discussion surrounding the whole issue of water in Lantzville is long overdue and I would support that. This would also include the impacts of having more water than the current residents require, including facilitating large developments. We need to openly discuss how much development we are willing to accept and whether development is really "going to pay for itself", without fear of being labelled 'backwards' if we opt for low growth. Unfortunately, when there is power and money involved, that type of thing seldom happens!

Water deal with Lantzville waits on Nanaimo city council vote



Nanaimo councillors approve water deal with Nanaimo


Lantzville getting bargain on Nanaimo's water (Letter to Editor) 

Water deal should be put to vote in Lantzville (Letter to Editor)

Interesting that this letter was written at a time when the draft agreement between Lantzville and Nanaimo already contained a requirement that the agreement subject to a positive vote by Lantzville residents before it could be enacted (a clause that was later be asked to have removed by Lantzville council and agreed to by Nanaimo council).

Drinking water found by Foothills developer

Deal is still on after developer locates water

Lantzville considers options on water

We already know how the large landowners, the media and council came together to 'convince' us that we needed sewers ("literally a cesspool") and now its happening again on water. There are far less expensive ways of dealing with geographically limited boron/salt water contamination than piping water from 30 km away.
If the majority of Lantzville residents do not want major development, why should their wishes not be respected - each of us has the same voting power as a single large landowner?! We should be allowed to live in peace in our 'backwater' without being made to feel stupid. We will be fine without this added infrastructure but the developers will not. Also, one of the biggest myths concerning development is that it pays for itself - which is very seldom true. The off-site costs and the disruption caused by the construction are significant and the taxes typically fall short. In the 9 months between now and the local elections, let your voice be heard, loud and often.


Motion on water referendum fails

Councillor offers up water option 

Enlist technology in making water available (Letter to Editor)

Lantzville council has yet to ratify agreement that will see water sharing with Nanaimo 

Lantzville residents seek the truth on water deal (Letter to Editor) 

Lantzville councillor calls for referendum

Town's water wars continue

Lantzville water vote called premature

Lantzville residents can't be complacent (Letter to Editor)

 City Log: Water-sharing agreement comes before council

Council approves changes to water agreement

As you can see, the Nanaimo Daily News left out the most important change requested by Lantzville council, and now approved by the City of Nanaimo, that being the removal of the requirement for there to be a vote by residents of Lantzville on the water deal. Interestingly enough, the Nanaimo Bulletin didn't mention it in their piece either. Strange that neither paper could see the importance of such a significant change!

Lantzville council votes to sign water deal with Nanaimo

We were promised public consultation via meetings and information mail-outs and we didn't even get the chance to speak to this major, major issue for our community at that fateful council meeting. Shame, shame, shame!! I guess we should have known the 'fix was in' when Lantzville council took the decision out of the hands of those who would be paying for it and put it in their own - several of whom will now stand to benefit from their decision. Many questions will remain unanswered - how much will Lantzville water users be paying for water usage (more or less than currently?). Are we now going to be required to waste as much water as Nanaimo does since we are required to adopt their water conservation regime? We have had an emergency water connection for years (which cost us $280,000) and have never had to draw a single drop). The vast majority of Lantzvillagers [on wells - added 14 10 13] were satisfied or more than satisfied with their quantity and quality of community-water so this has to be all about development. Mark my words, this is the end of Lantzville, folks! How long do you think that the province is going to allow us to play at governing ourselves when our sewage is treated in Nanaimo and now our water comes from Nanaimo? 

Public meeting set to discuss Lantzville water deal

Isn't that just wonderful - except for the fact that we were promised meetings BEFORE council would even consider accepting the water agreement. I suppose that we had to know council was going to approve the agreement no matter what the majority of Lantzville residents thought when they lobbied the city of Nanaimo to remove the requirement of approval by the residents of Lantzville. In my more than 20 years of watching local politicians do everything they could to keep the voters out of the process, but never could I have imagined that Lantzville council would be the one to stoop to a new low - leaving the water agreement off the Agenda and then adding it just prior to dealing with it.
Also, it certainly didn't take long for the developers to swoop in. Almost before the ink was dry on the water agreement, the District was signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the new owners of the Lantzville Foothills regarding development on their lands.
Really - what is there for us to discuss?!

Lantzville signs water agreement

Rather than his service with the tiny Lantzville Improvement District almost 30 years ago, I strongly suspect that Bob Colclough's ownership of a 5-acre piece of property adjacent to the Lantzville Foothills Estate's (Lone Pine) properties and his ownership of a company that does "land, community and economic development" consulting did more to inform his position of not seeing any reason not to sign the water agreement. The people of Lantzville, who have consistently said that they are satisfied with their water quantity and quality, might beg to differ. Sadly for democracy, now they won't even have that opportunity they were promised by council!

Lantzville's dry spell is over

Water agreement seems a bit leaky (Letter to Editor)

Lantzville 'Urban' Agriculture - Grow Market Food But Just Not There!!

I've met both Dirk and Nicole and they seem like very friendly, committed, hard-working, entrepreneurial people and I like many of the things that they are doing. Their organization of and active participation in the Farmer's Market at North Nanaimo Town Centre (correction: Bowen Road) is a real benefit for the Nanaimo area. I admire them for their philosophy and their hard work but they are farming in the wrong place! The land they are using for intensive agriculture, no matter how 'green'/environmentally friendly it may be, is not zoned for an agricultural use so their neighbours would not have expected to have that use nearby.
I agree with those that say that the 'Temporary Use Permits' being proposed by Lantzville Council is not the right way to handle this issue but not for the reasons that they give. 'Temporary Use Permits' are intended to allow municipal Councils to allow something that wouldn't otherwise be allowed, for a limited period of time and for a price. There are very few instances where granting one would be a benefit to the community and they can give the impression that Council is being paid to look the other way at not following their bylaws/infractions.
Here is what Dirk and Nicole's former neighbours had to say about their operation and its impact on their lives/ability to enjoy their property (I think we can all guess why they are 'former' neighbours):

Dear Editor,
We've been reading all the controversy with regards to Dirk Becker and his property in Lantzville. As previous neighbours with Dirk, we thought we would put forth another side.
I don't think anyone has an issue with neighbours growing their own food, we have always grown our own vegetables.
What I think the issue is here, or was at least when we lived next to him, is the fact that he has a full-scale composting operation going on. Year after year, truck after truck, companies dumped their debris on his property so he could compost it to make soil. He was composting grass clippings from lawn maintenance companies, tree chippings from tree service companies, as well, at least on one occasion, he managed to get a tote of rotting shrimp and had that dumped there. The stench that came from his property was so bad at times that we were unable to open our windows in the summer.
This piece of property is zoned residential. When people buy in an area, one of the things that they look into is the zoning. When a property is zoned residential, the expectation is that it will be a residential neighbourhood, and not have a commercial farm/composting operation operating within that neighbourhood. What was once your piece of paradise is now ruined because of a neighbour who does as he sees fit with no regard for his neighbours or bylaws in place. This was one of the major contributing factors of our decision to move.
We do hope the District of Lantzville will stand firm with its regulations on what is allowed and not allowed on residentially zoned properties.

- S & K Palin
Nanaimo

I see two problems with making quick, poorly considered changes to municipal zoning bylaws: 1) unintended consequences - things that hadn't been thought of in the rush to 'just get it done' and 2) enforcement. When zoning bylaws are 'rejigged' to try to address one issue, someone eventually comes along and tries to 'push the boundary' and then it is up to the municipality to step in and try to enforce them. If the bylaw has been changed in haste, often what is missed is the interpretation that an individual may assign to the text of the bylaw. Enforcement has never been any municipality's strong suit - it is expensive, time-consuming and with no guarantees and, because of that, Councils often lose the will to proceed and almost everyone loses. Take, for example, the issue of secondary suites - even in areas where they are permitted, there are restrictions on things such as no. of vehicles, the amount of garbage that can be put out and the quality of construction. Unfortunately, someone decides to take advantage and, the next thing the neighbours know, the street is full of vehicles and garbage cans, making it unsightly, unsafe and unhealthy. The recently proposed District of Lantzville 'Urban Food Garden' bylaw appears to be just such a case - it contains prohibitions, numerical limits and several restrictions that are just the kind of thing someone, sooner or later, will 'challenge' and then Lantzville will have to respond or we will go down an all-too-familiar road. With all of its restrictions to try and make it acceptable in an urban neighbourhood, I would also venture to guess that the proposed bylaw would be found unworkable by the proponents of urban agriculture.
If they really wanted to speed up the process, the most direct route would be to apply to rezone their property from residential to agricultural. Either that or there are hundreds of acres of appropriately zoned farm land in Lantzville sitting unused (Negrin's, Chick's, Irvine's, Wong's). Why don't they seek a deal to lease some of this land and it would be a win-win-win situation. They would have a place to grow their tasty vegetables that wouldn't annoy any neighbours, the land owner would possibly be able to apply for farm status, thereby saving significantly on his/her taxes and so could afford to make the land available at a reasonable price and the Nanaimo area would continue to have access to tasty, fresh and healthy food.