The island

Denman hearing draws questions on proposed beach-driving bylaw

Residents questioned how proposed Bylaw No. 225 would affect aquaculture access and how the rules could be enforced.

The Denman Firestarter · reporting 2018-03-08 · compiled 2026-10-01

Back issue. The Denman Firestarter did not exist on 2018-03-08. This edition was compiled on 2026-10-01 from the public record as it stood on 2018-03-08, and contains nothing dated after that day — no outcomes, no hindsight. It is a reconstruction of what was on the record at the time, not a document from the time. This edition.

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A public hearing on proposed Bylaw No. 225 took place at the Denman Activity Centre on March 6, after a community information meeting on the proposal. The meeting minutes record about thirty members of the public in attendance.^[1]

The proposal would add a general prohibition on vehicles and ground-based machinery in the W1, W3 and W4 zones, with an information note about licensed aquaculture operations. Staff said the Local Trust Committee had received legal advice that it could not regulate fisheries under federal jurisdiction.^[1]

Residents asked why the aquaculture zone was included, whether the proposal had been assessed for its effects, and how it could be enforced. Staff said the bylaw would prohibit driving unrelated to aquaculture tenures and that enforcement would be difficult without full-time staff on Denman; Islands Trust bylaw enforcement is generally complaint-based.^[1]

The minutes say written or verbal submissions could be received until the public hearing closed. They do not record a decision on Bylaw No. 225.^[1]

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