- Mayor Wiese miscounts, discounts neighbourhood opposition to spot rezoning
- New Naked Naturals store receives first reading by QB Council
- Sarah Duncan’s after-hours access to CCCU premises during by-election deemed not misconduct
- Remembering former Councillor Scott Tanner – Saturday, August 7, 2021
- St. Andrews Lodge restoration fundraiser – Saturday, August 14, 2021
Mayor Wiese miscounts, discounts neighbourhood opposition to spot rezoning
We need to clarify misinformation spoken by Mayor Wiese at a July 28, 2021 Special Meeting of Qualicum Beach Council, misinformation that was repeated by Oceanside News.
At this Special Meeting — held a week after the July 21, 2021 Public Hearing regarding a spot rezoning proposal at 188 Sunningdale Road East — Qualicum Beach Council gave third reading to this proposal on a 4 – 1 vote, with Councillor Anne Skipsey being opposed.
Wiese stated “I believe there were four neighbours who spoke [at the July 21 Public Hearing]. The rest were the people that [sic] speak on everything we do, and generally negatively.” He then repeated: “I counted four from the neighbourhood that [sic] spoke up at the [Public] Hearing.” Mayor Wiese made these comments after Councillor Skipsey reported to her Council colleagues that 30 people had commented, 28 of whom were opposed (all from this neighbourhood) and two who were either neutral or in favour, neither of whom live in the neighbourhood. Skipsey and Wiese can’t both be right.
A review based just on the Town’s own record of written submissions (included in the attached document) confirms that Wiese’s comments were inaccurate. Readers will see from the letters to Council shown below that 100% of the written submissions that included a home address were from eight neighbours opposed to approving the spot rezoning at 188 Sunningdale Road East.
Mayor Wiese’s misleading and dismissive statements, aided and abetted by Oceanside News repeating obvious misinformation to the public, are an abuse of authority that harms the rights of citizens to engage in legitimate and beneficial community consultation.
New Naked Naturals store receives first reading by QB Council
In January 2021 the Town announced its sale of a portion of the Town-owned land at the corner of Fern Road and Memorial Avenue (known by its previous role as the “Bus Garage” property) to Naked Naturals Whole Foods Ltd.
At its July 21, 2021 Regular Meeting, Town Council gave first reading to a development proposal submitted by Naked Naturals for a new food store on the property, with rental accommodation on the upper level. The proposed development requires rezoning of the property to allow mixed commercial / residential use. Next step is a review of the proposal by the Town’s Advisory Planning Commission.
Here is a link to the Town Planning Department’s July 21st report to Council, which includes a description of the planned building as well as artist renditions:
Sarah Duncan’s after-hours access of CCCU premises during by-election deemed not misconduct
During the May 2021 by-election for the vacant seat on Qualicum Beach Council, Second Opinion QB received information from multiple members of the public that candidate Sarah Duncan was observed entering the Coastal Community Credit Union (CCCU) branch in Qualicum Beach after business hours to conduct election campaign activities. Sarah Duncan is the manager of CCCU’s QB branch.
According to the information (including photographs) Ms. Duncan, accompanied by someone not known to be a CCCU staff member, unlocked the bank premises and then entered an area inside the branch marked as “no access” to the public.
We contacted CCCU about the complaints, asking if access to the banking premises after hours and entry to a “no access” area by non-CCCU personnel was permitted, citing customer information privacy and security concerns. Allyson Prescesky, CCCU Senior Manager of Community Experience and Communications declined to comment, stating in an email “We take the issue of privacy and security of our premises, our people and the information we hold on our members and clients very seriously. In order to safeguard them, and given the nature of these issues, we will not discuss or comment on privacy or security related processes or policies.”
After receiving the “no comment” response from CCCU head office, we contacted the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) to inquire whether access to the banking premises after hours by Ms. Duncan and a person not known to be CCCU staff was appropriate.
In an email reply received July 29, 2021, the BCFSA confirmed that they had inquired about this matter with the CCCU. BCFSA’s Lorena Dimma, Manager of Business Practices, wrote “While we cannot disclose the nature of the discussion with CCCU, we are satisfied that no misconduct took place.”
Remembering Scott Tanner
On Saturday, August 7, 2021 at 1:00 pm a reception is scheduled at the QB Civic Centre to celebrate the life and contributions to our community by Scott Tanner who died on July 24th.
Thank you to Ceri and John Peacey for contributing this photo of Scott taken during the signing ceremony for the Brown Property acquisition, which residents and visitors now enjoy as our very special Heritage Forest.
Here is the obituary posted in the Times-Colonist.
St. Andrews Lodge restoration fundraiser – Saturday, August 14, 2021
You can donate clean and gently used items taking up valuable space in your home and yard to benefit our community’s major heritage project, the restoration of St. Andrews Lodge. To make it easy, volunteers can pick-up your donations. Then, on August 14, organizers invite you to “bring the family, find a treasure, and stroll the grounds” of this historic site located on QB’s Waterfront. See this flyer for details.