WHEREAS regional districts are not immune to the problems associated with buildings that have been used for the manufacturing or growing of controlled substances; AND WHEREAS through the Local Government Act, regional districts do not possess the same legislative authority as municipalities to enact Controlled Substance Property Remediation Bylaws and that in order for the municipal legislation to be fully effective, regional districts require the authority to create bylaws that will compliment the municipal partners legislation: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the UBCM lobby the provincial government to enable regional districts to enact controlled substance property remediation bylaws.
Ministry of Community Development Regional districts generally do not have the same scope of bylaw powers that municipalities have, especially in regulatory matters. This has been based on the premise that rural areas do not typically have the same need to regulate on the range of issues that more densely populated municipalities must deal with. Another issue has been whether regional districts have the infrastructure in place to give effect to such bylaws, such as enforcement mechanisms. The Government of British Columbia recognizes that there may be situations that require special attention. This is usually done by way of a pilot project which can be evaluated. If a regional district wishes to enact a controlled substance property remediation bylaw comparable to those in municipalities and considers that it can demonstrate the real need and capacity for special authority, the regional district should contact the Ministry of Community Development to discuss the possibility of custom designed regulatory authority to address the particular needs of the regional district.