Representatives from three new development projects in the
Pemberton area have asked to be included in the Village of Pemberton’s plans to
expand municipal boundaries.
Pemberton Mayor Jordan Sturdy said the VoP completed an
expansion about a year ago and council is currently starting to map out the
areas they would like to have included in the next expansion. He estimates the
last expansion process took about four years to complete.
Once VoP staff establish the areas they are interested in
including in the expansion, Sturdy said they will present the plan to members
of the public for feedback and recommendations. Afterwards, the application
will be submitted to the Ministry of Community Services for approval.
Sturdy said the developers who came forward at last week’s
council meeting are asking for their land to be included within village
boundaries so they will have access to services, like water and sewage.
“The village’s policy is we will not supply services to areas
outside of the village boundaries,” said Sturdy.
In return, Sturdy said, they would be paying taxes to the
village, and the Village of Pemberton would have some control over their
development plans.
Drew Meredith also sent a letter to council, asking that his
home be included in the boundary extension. He explained that because of where
his property is situated, it made sense for him to join the developers in
requesting their area be included in the next boundary extension.
For his own purposes, Meredith acknowledged that being included
in the village would mean he may benefit from services in the future, but said
the main reason he consented was because the other developers need these
services to make their developments viable.
“The Regional District doesn’t have the infrastructure or
capacity to deal with their needs, and the village needs to have a bigger tax
base,” explained Meredith.
At last week’s meeting Sturdy emphasized that council expects
to see a master plan before they will approve the developers’ requests to
become part of the village.
Councillors referred the boundary expansion issue to staff, and plan to discuss the matter further at their Oct. 2 meeting.