BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
In early 2024, Mudge Islanders were suddenly inundated with bylaw complaints – 56 to be exact – to the Islands Trust.
This understandably took islanders by surprise. Mudge is boat-access only and has a year-round population of about 150, with that number growing to about 300 when recreational owners return to their properties.
“We’re a remote island, and the community has to really pull together to deal with problems,” said John McCullough, who has owned a property on Mudge Island since 1993.
“There’s a live and let live culture that’s developed on the island. Until this rash of complaints, nobody really cared to complain about their neighbor’s property,” he said.
A special LTC meeting was held in July of that year on Mudge Island in response. The Mudge Island Community Association (MICA) was also born, with Chair Rich Brooks and McCullough as Vice-Chair, elected to be the liaisons/representatives to Islands Trust from Mudge Island, along with four other members.
“All of these people got notices from the Island’s Trust about the complaints and the commencement of investigations to follow up on the complaints. And so, as you might expect, there was a lot of anxiety and fear on the island as a result,” McCullough said.
Following a Freedom of Information request, McCullough says they discovered a coordinated effort between two people. They do not know who is responsible.
“Essentially, they drove around the island and visited each property, noted bylaw complaints and then submitted them in batches to [Islands Trust],” he says.
The special meeting in July 2024 had approximately 72 Mudge Islanders in attendance to discuss these complaints and their existing 2007 Land Use Bylaw (LUB), the merrit the complaints stood on.
At the July 2024 meeting, it was decided to put a pause on all bylaw investigations until a review of the Mudge Island LUB could be complete. No amendments to the bylaw have been made since 2018.
An advisory planning commission was set up including all the MICA members and two other community members to consult Islands Trust on the review.
Two years later, this project has not commenced. At the April 23 Gabriola LTC meeting, staff and trustees discussed that the Mudge LUB minor project would commence after the Gabriola OCP is complete, citing staff resources.
“The Mudge Island community has been waiting a long time, and they actually put in a lot of pre-work. So I don’t want to disappoint anyone who’s been waiting for this and excited to see it start,” said Gabriola Trustee Tobi Elliott at the meeting.
Trustees made the decision not to defer but keep it on the future projects list, saying they hope the new crop of trustees who come in October will “see how long it’s been there.”
The first draft of the Gabriola OCP will be presented to the community on May 21.
“We’re disappointed, obviously. There are a few things that are problematic about Mudge Island,” says McCullough. “The bylaws can’t fix all of them, but a review of the bylaws and the amendments to the bylaws could probably resolve [about] half of the complaints that remain.”
There are several issues with the existing document as it stands right now, he says. For example, mooring buoys are not permitted on the boat-access only island, which also lacks a private dock, he says. This would leave some without the ability to access their property should it be enforced.
Warren Dingman, Bylaw Compliance & Enforcement Manager at Islands Trust, disagrees. He says mooring buoys are not a requirement for any property owner to access their property because they are allowed float docks and barge ramps.
Part of the issue with mooring buoys is clutters the surrounding water, which has become a problem in other southern Gulf Islands. However, he says there is little to no enforcement action taken on mooring buoys because of a lack of complaints.
McCullough also says another major problem is for property owners with two adjacent lots, but only a house on one, they cannot have any accessory structure on the empty lot, like a shed, without a house to accompany it. A problem for those who want to keep land intact and density down.
Dingman says this is true, however they could use the land to support agriculture, like a garden, greenhouse, and even a small shed with a wood stove to support the gardening.
“Some people put little stoves in greenhouses. Then they can have a little wood shed, and no one’s going to enforce it if they’re using the wood shed and taking wood over to the dwelling to the neighboring lot,” Dingman says.
While they are grateful for the review, McCullough said what Mudge Islanders really want is a fresh start.
“Islands Trust agreed to a targeted review, so it’s like an emergency surgery.
“What people on the island would like to do is start with a blank slate and start making rules that make sense for a remote island,” he says.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca
You can support trusted and verified news content like this.
FIPA’s news monitor subscribers, donors and funders help make these available to everyone rather than behind a paywall. We appreciate every contribution because it makes a difference.
If you found this article interesting and useful, please consider contributing here.
