By Jason LuciwWestside ReporterApr 22 2007 http://www.kelownacapnews.com/
Regardless of what Westsiders decide in this spring’s referendum, the time has come for the Central Okanagan Regional District to rethink its role in local governance, says the chairman of the regional board. “I’ve had the unique opportunity to be your ‘mayor’ for 14 years,” said Robert Hobson at the conclusion of the last Westside Governance Committee earlier this month. Following the committee’s final meeting, Hobson confirmed his expectations that a review would be done on the role of the regional district as a whole. But, even before the committee’s recommendation to hold a June 16 referendum, Hobson had started looking at how the regional district’s purview would need to evolve. Whichever of the three options Westsiders choose, CORD has a cohesive role to play among all municipalities and unincorporated areas, said Hobson “Whatever decision is made, I know it will be the best for the Westside. “And, it will hopefully lift the burden off me and the regional district.”
The Westside’s massive growth in recent years has posed unique challenges for the regional district, which Hobson said would need to be seriously addressed if Westsiders chose to remain an unincorporated area. “We would immediately need to seek added powers,” he said. “Most importantly we would need control over our roads. “We would need to ask the province to make the appropriate changes so that the regional district could collect development cost charges,” said Hobson. Under the current structure, developers can offer voluntary gifts to the regional district to cover costs of future road maintenance and services. But, new subdivisions place far more pressure on roads and services than volunteer gifting covers. The City of Kelowna, for example, has managed to place millions of dollars in various reserves through the development cost charge structure, which it is permitted to have as a city. “And subdivision approvals would be something we really needed control over,” Hobson noted. Currently, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation approves subdivisions and maintains roads in all regional districts.
Should incorporation or amalgamation with Kelowna become the Westside’s new reality, Hobson said the regional district will still need to rethink itself. “There must be some soul searching…certainly change would not happen quickly.” Hobson doesn’t foresee a restructuring study being needed. Rather, he said he sees the regional district repositioning itself to take leadership roles in the areas of transportation and transit, regional parks and long-term planning for the whole Central Okanagan. “We’ve gone many years since the regional district was first established without really rethinking our role,” he said. With the governance referendum now slated for June, he said it makes sense to now sit down with the CORD board and “brainstorm” on the functions of the regional district for the future.
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