On tap for discussion today at Regional District Board table

Proposed Dock Regulations – Okanagan Basin Lakes

Administrative Recommendation:
THAT the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Okanagan Basin Lakes Official Community
Plan and Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2862 proceed to first reading.

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to seek direction from the Board regarding revised Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw amendments related to the regulation of docks on major lakes within Electoral Areas “A”, “C”, “D”, “E”, “F”, and “I”.

Background:
The construction and placement of private moorage facilities on aquatic Crown land (foreshore)
requires authorization from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. Private  moorage facilities include docks, boat ways/ramps or boat lifts that are used for private residential use.

Provincial permission is typically granted for docks on aquatic Crown land, as long as the dock is
constructed in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the General Permission to Use Crown Land for a Private Moorage Dock. For larger scale facilities (e.g. commercial dock or marina), a more complex tenure from the Province must first be obtained to lease Crown land.
In the past, the RDOS has responded to Crown Land Referrals for larger scale commercial docks that met the province’s approval, but did not necessarily align with the RDOS’s expectations.

At its meeting March 17, 2019, the P&D Committee resolved “that the Okanagan Electoral Area
Zoning Bylaws be amended to introduce a Water Use Zone in order to regulate the development of
commercial docks.”

This matter brought before Osoyoos Council this week with civic leaders indicating that any bylaw, OCP amendment for Osyoos rural should be in sync with the Town and indicated that staff would work towards that goal in consulting with the RDOS Valley Lakes policy.