Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Assessment

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Assessment project. Your input has been compiled as part of a community issues assessment report. The report provides a high-level overview of local services provided for Magic Lake Estates residents and outlines community response and opinions on the relative importance and level of satisfaction with governance and service delivery in the community. A copy of the report has been provided to the Magic Lake Estates Property Owners Society (MLPOS) and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. With this report, the Ministry will consider whether to advance any further study on governance in the Magic Lake Community. Staff will continue to support the MLPOS on addressing the concerns raised by the survey respondents, such as road maintenance and land use issues, by engaging in cross-jurisdictional advocacy as the opportunities arise.

Background

Magic Lake Estates is an approximately 600-acre neighbourhood on North Pender Island, which had its origins in the 1960s as a vacation home development proposal known as "Gulf Island Estates." The controversy over the proposed development is often cited as one of the catalysts for the formation of the Islands Trust in 1974.

Today, Magic Lake Estates comprises approximately 1,200 parcels with 1,034 single-family equivalents (in 2019), and is one of the largest, most densely populated residential neighbourhoods throughout all of the Gulf Islands.

Like most of the islands in the Salish Sea, North Pender Island is located in an unincorporated area (in this case within the Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area of the Capital Regional District). As such, Magic Lake Estates receives its local services from a variety of service providers rather than from a single municipality. This includes, but is not limited to:

• the Province of British Columbia (roads, subdivision approval, schools, policing),
• the Capital Regional District (water, sanitary sewer, parks, building inspection, regional planning, and more), and
• the Islands Trust (local land use planning).

In addition, and unique to Magic Lake Estates, the Magic Lake Property Owners' Society (MLPOS) was established in the mid-1970s to manage several amenities as well as be an additional voice for residents of the community. Today, the MLPOS owns and manages Thieves Bay Marina, the tennis/pickle ball courts and the playground. MLPOS is a non-profit society whose membership is voluntary, and its Board of Directors meet generally a monthly basis.

In response to a request from MLPOS for a governance review of MLE and to seek clarity on the current service delivery arrangements, this project will provide a community issues assessment and summary of the governance framework and service models that exist in Magic Lake Estates.

Goal

Based on the CRD’s Public Participation Framework, this project will largely focus on gathering information, discussion, and public engagement to seek community opinion on the existing service and governance models of MLE.

This project will work with the MLPOS as a partnering stakeholder, to inform and consult the wider resident community on matters of governance and service delivery.

The success of this project relates to informing an understanding of the existing service model and governance framework, and collecting feedback on its effectiveness.

Objectives

The purpose of this study is to provide a factual, unbiased report which describes the various service providers at all levels (Federal, Provincial, Local, and non-profit society), outline the various decision-making processes at play with each of the service providers, and identify the needs and concerns of the community today and into the future.

It is not intended to provide detailed technical or financial analysis, nor will it explore the various options for future governance models, although the findings of this report could lead to further studies as part of future phases.