Welcome to the Friends of Island View Beach!
Our goal is to provide a voice for responsible stewardship and sound management of Island View Beach Regional Park, for the benefit of all people of the region. We send out emails from time to time as matters arise effecting Island View Beach. If you would like to be on our email list, please send us a note on the email link above.
IMPORTANT UPDATE January 19 2015
The CRD has published what they call a "Presentation on the Park's Natural Environment" as the first step in another effort to create a new management plan for Island View Beach Regional Park, and they have scheduled public meetings on January 29th and February 5th. We examined the presentation, and to our great disappointment, we found the presentation does not provide information on what species are in the park and what needs protecting. Instead it speaks, misleadingly, about things found at “Island View Beach” not “Island View Beach Regional Park”. “Island View Beach” is a much larger area than the park, and includes habitats and species not present in the park. Also the presentation failed to consider the effect of climate change and rising sea level on the ecosystem of the park. . We have written to the CRD Board, concluding:
IMPORTANT UPDATE January 19 2015
The CRD has published what they call a "Presentation on the Park's Natural Environment" as the first step in another effort to create a new management plan for Island View Beach Regional Park, and they have scheduled public meetings on January 29th and February 5th. We examined the presentation, and to our great disappointment, we found the presentation does not provide information on what species are in the park and what needs protecting. Instead it speaks, misleadingly, about things found at “Island View Beach” not “Island View Beach Regional Park”. “Island View Beach” is a much larger area than the park, and includes habitats and species not present in the park. Also the presentation failed to consider the effect of climate change and rising sea level on the ecosystem of the park. . We have written to the CRD Board, concluding:
"Once again an environmental report by the CRD for Island View Beach Regional Park is misleading, and no reasonable person would be able make an informed decision based on it.
The public meetings scheduled for January 29 & February 5th should be postponed because there is no factual information about the park to put before them.
A new model is needed because the process is broken, and public trust has been long lost.
We believe a Parks sub-committee should be formed of the three Peninsula Mayors to make inquiries, and present recommendations to the Regional Parks Committee on how to move forward."
Click here to see our letter to the CRD Board of Directors of January 19, 2015
IMPORTANT UPDATE May 19 2014
The CRD are considering proposals for public consultation in the development of a new park management plan at Island View Beach.
Do the proposals go far enough to guarantee public participation?
And the "sand dune" restoration, you have to read about!
Click here to see the proposals then give your feed back
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From earlier .....
1) Our key message: Leave the park alone! This is what the public told the CRD on March 16, 2011. For almost 50 years Island View Beach Regional Park has been a major destination for generations of local families who want to enjoy the beach, fly kites, walk their dogs, launch small boats, or hold cook-outs and play with their kids in a safe oceanside environment. We want to keep it that way!
2) Our principal concern Instead of listening to the public, CRD staff have been attempting to force their vision on us based on environmental claims that remain unproved or may be disproven. See claims here and environment here. An independent environmental assessment is needed.
3) Specific issues to be Resolved
4) Immediate Questions:
Why didn't the CRD Board take immediate action when it was told of the problems?
Is it too much to expect that material put out by the CRD will be accurate?
Why can we not have documents written by the CRD in plain language that say what they mean?
How is it that CRD Parks Staff appear to ignore policies of the CRD Board?
The CRD should put its own house in order before going further.
If you value Island View Beach then take some time to browse this site from the site map and get to know what is going on. Email us if you have any questions via the button on the top right side of each page. And when you've got a handle on things then email the CRD and tell them what what you think!
3) Specific issues to be Resolved
- Staff put out a draft plan park last year to replace the current bylaw, but many of the claims they made in it did not check out - look at these here How can so many mistakes be made accidentally?
- The plan was written in a way that appeared designed to lull people into a state of false reassurance. For example, staff didn't disclose they were planning to reduce the area for public recreation from the 17% of the park it is now, down to 3%. Look here
- These are some of the things that have happened over the last few years - and what is still happening - that you should be aware of see here
- And look here at all the times the CRD Board were given notice of the problems and did nothing see here
- Great amounts of tax payer money have been spent on consultants at Island View with nothing to show for it. And staff are now asking for another $35,000 to do the public consultation they should have done 3 years ago.
4) Immediate Questions:
Why didn't the CRD Board take immediate action when it was told of the problems?
Is it too much to expect that material put out by the CRD will be accurate?
Why can we not have documents written by the CRD in plain language that say what they mean?
How is it that CRD Parks Staff appear to ignore policies of the CRD Board?
The CRD should put its own house in order before going further.
- Put an immediate halt to the process at Island View Beach
- Make full inquiry into the information provided in these links about the operations and the role of the Board
- Two years ago local residents offered to put in trails and foot bridges at no cost - why wasn't that followed up?
- A contractor offered to clean the ditches twice a year for 3 years for only $950 a time. Why wasn't that followed up?
- Call in the Auditor General for Local Government to conduct a full value-for-money audit.
- Find out how much has been spent on consultants and other third parties at Island View since 2006. Is it over $200,000?
- Restructure the Board processes to ensure that the information on which it makes its decisions is accurate, complete, timely and balanced.
- Institute a process to ensure the policies established by the Board are implemented by staff
- And when the Island View process starts up again, begin it with an independent environmental assessment that engages the public.
If you value Island View Beach then take some time to browse this site from the site map and get to know what is going on. Email us if you have any questions via the button on the top right side of each page. And when you've got a handle on things then email the CRD and tell them what what you think!
We work hard to ensure accuracy of the material on our web site. If any of the information or their interpretation is known to be incorrect, please contact us by email directly so it may be corrected.