Category: Lasqueti LTA

Lasqueti Island Local Trust Committee Meetings Update

Posted on November 20, 2025

The Lasqueti Island Local Trust Committee (LTC) has decided, in consultation with staff, to reschedule the remaining LTC meetings as electronic meetings for the balance of the fiscal year, ending March 31, 2026.

Islands Trust’s Local Trust Committees Meeting Procedures Bylaw requires that at least two LTC meetings each year must be held in-person. This requirement has been met in this fiscal year. The Meeting Procedures Bylaw allows for meetings beyond the two in-person minimum to be held electronically. All three LTC trustees have agreed to this approach for the balance of the current fiscal year.

This decision is primarily a result of concerns about the suitability of the meeting space normally used for LTC meetings. The Lasqueti Island LTC is fortunate to have strong public attendance at its meetings, but recent meetings have shown that the current venue does not have sufficient capacity to allow for a safe meeting environment for all participants.

Larger venues on the island have limited internet connectivity and cannot support the necessary electronic attendance by staff and members of the public at in-person meetings. The Lasqueti LTC will continue to explore options with staff to return to in-person meetings in a safe and responsible way in the future.

Members of the public will be able to participate in electronic meetings via the Meetings and Events calendar on the Islands Trust website under the “What’s Happening” navigation tab.

Members of the public are also encouraged to subscribe to Lasqueti Island LTC notifications to stay up to date with the latest news from Islands Trust on www.islandstrust.bc.ca/subscribe/.

Rueben Bronee
Chief Administrative Officer
Islands Trust

 

The next Lasqueti LTC meeting is on December 8, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. Access the meeting here.

Bylaw Enforcement on Lasqueti Island

Posted on October 31, 2023

Bylaw Enforcement on Lasqueti Island:

By: Trustee Tim Peterson, Lasqueti Island Local Trust Committee

The Lasqueti Island Local Trust Area, like other jurisdictions, has bylaws to help capture the vision of the community and to regulate land development accordingly. The two most relevant Islands Trust bylaws are the Lasqueti Island Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 77, and the Lasqueti Island Land Use Bylaw No. 78.  These bylaws may be reviewed on the Lasqueti page of the Islands Trust website, and include the dates of any revisions.  Bylaw No. 77 was last amended in September 2012, and Bylaw No. 78 in January 2019.

When Bylaws 77 and 78 were created, it was with public engagement and the community provided input. If the public feels that any bylaw is no longer serving the community, it should be brought to the attention of the Local Trust Committee (LTC) for consideration of amendment. A public process would then follow, and public input would be considered, including a formal Public Hearing if a new bylaw is drafted.

The Islands Trust Council has adopted a bylaw compliance and enforcement policy to guide the work of its bylaw compliance and enforcement team. The enforcement of bylaws is primarily a complaint-driven process. If there has been a complaint, bylaw compliance and enforcement officers investigate. If a contravention of a Local Trust Committee bylaw is found to exist, the property owner will be asked to take steps to comply with the bylaw.

Depending on the specific circumstances, the bylaw compliance and enforcement officer will negotiate a reasonable plan and time for voluntary compliance. This compliance plan may accommodate unusual circumstances (such as seasonal or financial constraints or personal situation) which means a property owner is given extra time to comply. If voluntary compliance is not achieved, the bylaw compliance and enforcement officer may issue a Bylaw Violation Notice (ticket), if the LTC has adopted such a system, or recommend that an LTC approve legal action to acquire a court order to gain compliance.

It is important to note that Lasqueti does not have a Bylaw Enforcement Notification Bylaw. Many local trust areas do, some do not. Bylaw Enforcement Notification Bylaws allow for fines for violations, and are sometimes used as an intermediate step between voluntary compliance and court action. In 2012 the Lasqueti Trust Committee considered such a bylaw, but ultimately decided not to proceed.

The bylaw compliance and enforcement team investigates alleged contraventions of the land use bylaws of the LTCs comprising the Islands Trust. The LTC and local trustees are not involved in any way with specific investigations except when the bylaw compliance and enforcement officer recommends the LTC approve legal action. The decision whether to approve legal action is taken in-camera, a meeting which is not open to the public. If the LTC supports staff’s recommendation then funding for legal action is sought from the Islands Trust Executive Committee. Enforcement through the Court is a last resort to enforce the bylaws. This step is avoided until other compliance attempts have proven to be unsuccessful.