The island

Denman hearing draws questions on proposed beach-driving bylaw

Residents questioned how proposed Bylaw No. 225 would affect aquaculture access and beach driving at a March 6 public hearing.

The Denman Firestarter · reporting 2018-03-22 · compiled 2026-10-01

Back issue. The Denman Firestarter did not exist on 2018-03-22. This edition was compiled on 2026-10-01 from the public record as it stood on 2018-03-22, 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. ^[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 aquaculture operations licensed under the Fisheries Act. ^[1]

Residents asked why the W3 aquaculture zone was included and whether the bylaw could be enforced; staff said enforcement would be difficult without full-time enforcement staff on Denman and that Islands Trust enforcement was generally complaint-based. ^[1]

The minutes say staff reported that Fisheries and Oceans Canada had raised concern that the bylaw not restrict operators’ access to their tenures. They also record staff saying the Local Trust Committee had received legal advice that it could not regulate federally licensed activity. ^[1]

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