The island

Denman hearing draws questions on proposed beach-driving bylaw

Residents questioned a proposed restriction on vehicles and machinery in three marine zones at a March 6 public hearing.

The Denman Firestarter · reporting 2018-03-15 · compiled 2026-10-01

Back issue. The Denman Firestarter did not exist on 2018-03-15. This edition was compiled on 2026-10-01 from the public record as it stood on 2018-03-15, 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 about the proposal. The bylaw 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.^[1]

Questions included why the W3 aquaculture zone was included, how the bylaw could be enforced, and whether the Local Trust Committee had assessed likely effects. Staff said the bylaw was intended to prohibit driving unrelated to aquaculture tenures and that enforcement would be difficult without full-time enforcement staff on Denman.^[1]

The minutes record that staff said Fisheries and Oceans Canada had raised concern that the bylaw not restrict operators’ access to their tenures. They also record that the agency had confirmed the same licence terms applied to all operators and had increased its enforcement staff.^[1]

The hearing followed a February town hall where a member of the public argued against exempting shellfish workers from driving on the foreshore in W1 and W4 zones. Trustees responded that they had received advice that the committee could not regulate that aspect of land use.^[2]

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