Bowen Island has a special status in the Islands Trust Area as the only island municipality.
It is represented on the Islands Trust Council by two municipal trustees who are also municipal councillors.
The municipality benefits from all Trust Area-wide programs in the same way as local trust areas. This includes:
- Land protection and conservation by the Islands Trust Conservancy. On Bowen Island the Conservancy manages the David Otter Nature Reserve, the Fairy Fen Nature Reserve, the Singing Woods Nature Reserve, and two conservation covenant areas
- Mapping software licences for use by land use planners
- Mapping of ecological and shoreline features
- Education programs and workshops
- The History and Heritage Grant program
- The Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program
- Advocacy on issues that matter to the community
- Intergovernmental relations
- Communications
Bowen Island in Islands Trust
Bowen Island Municipality’s relationship with the Islands Trust is set out in its Letters Patent and the Islands Trust Act.
Bowen Island Municipality must:
- Have regard for the preserve and protect Object (mandate) of the Trust when adopting a bylaw or issuing a permit or license
- Submit its Official Community Plan (OCP) bylaws for approval
- Refer non-OCP bylaws that include a reference to a matter included in the Islands Trust Policy Statement.
Visit our Bowen Island page for more information on Bowen Island OCP and land use bylaw amendment processes.
The Islands Trust and Bowen Island Municipality Protocol Agreement describes the principles and processes that underpin our positive relationship.
Bowen Island is represented on the Islands Trust Council by two municipal trustees who are also municipal councillors: Trustee Sue Ellen Fast and Trustee Judith Gedye.
An overview of the programs offered by Islands Trust is available in a PowerPoint presentation given to Bowen Island Municipal Council on March 14, 2019.
Bowen Island Financial Requisition
Property owners on Bowen Island pay property taxes towards the Islands Trust which are collected by Bowen Island Municipality as part of their annual requisition.
The amount of taxes collected on behalf of Islands Trust is based on the Islands Trust Act and Trust Council’s Municipal Tax Requisition Calculation Policy Bowen Island taxpayers contribute to the work of the Trust Council and the Islands Trust Conservancy, but not the operation or planning work of local trust committees.
For more background on the Bowen Island requisition, please read the following briefings produced in 2019: