No one at the Capital Regional District (CRD) board table can remember a regional Alternative Approval Process (AAP) counter-petition succeeding — and right now, at least for the district’s planned creation of a Regional Transportation Service, it seems that run isn’t likely to end.
The CRD board voted in March to begin an AAP for that new service, intended to address transportation needs within the regional district, including the development of “transportation policies, plans, projects and studies related to public transit, active transportation, mobility hubs, demand management and road and trail safety,” according to staff reports.
Salt Spring elected officials have repeatedly opposed being included in the new scheme, pointing out the island already has its own transportation service, and questioning whether the additional taxation would actually improve local service.
In contrast to an affirmative referendum vote, the AAP allows the board to adopt the service-establishing bylaw if less than 10 per cent, or fewer than 33,127 electors within the CRD, join a counter petition. With 9,500 registered voters on Salt Spring, local officials noted, even if every islander signed in opposition the counter petition would fail anyway.
But whether due to discouraging mathematics or in a reflection of support for the new service, with just days left before the deadline, no significant voter objection has emerged.
Responding to a question during the CRD’s Committee of the Whole meeting Wednesday, April 30, housing, planning and protective services general manager Kevin Lorette reported there had been just 151 elector response forms submitted in opposition to the establishment of the new service — less than one per cent of the number needed to send the issue to a referendum, according to Lorette.
With the new service, according to CRD staff estimates, an average residential tax bill on Salt Spring could increase by nearly $50 annually, if the requisition grows to the full $20 million authorized.
The deadline for submitting signed elector response forms — whether in-person, through the mail or by scanning a legible, signed copy and emailing to legserv@crd.bc.ca — is Friday, May 16. Forms are available online at crd.ca.
This story has been updated from an earlier version to better reflect the potential tax increase.