Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Assessment

Share Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Assessment on Facebook Share Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Assessment on Twitter Share Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Assessment on Linkedin Email Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Assessment link

The public input period is now complete.

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

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.


  • SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Thank you to everyone who completed the survey for the Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Assessment, which ran from September 22 to October 23. Your feedback to date has been very informative and is an important component of this process.

    Background

    In October 2021, the Magic Lake Property Owners Society (MLPOS) requested funding from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs through the Capital Regional District (CRD), for a formal governance study to be undertaken for the Magic Lake Estates neighbourhood on North Pender Island. Given the range of forms that a governance study can take – from a Community Issues Assessment to a traditional governance study – the Ministry reviewed the request and provided funding to support a Community Issues Assessment. As part of the study and in order to better understand the current governance and service delivery issues in the community, the following survey is being conducted for all Magic Lake Estates (MLE) residents.

    Thank you in advance for your participation in this survey, which is taking place between September 22, 2023 and October 20, 2023.

    This survey is designed to be anonymous. Your opinion is your personal information. Please do not include any information which identifies you or others in your response.

    Any personal information that is collected is done so by the Capital Regional District (CRD) under the authority of Section 26 (c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and will be used to evaluate community understanding and satisfaction with service delivery in the Magic Lake neighbourhood of North Pender Island on behalf of the Province of British Columbia. Should you have questions about the collection of this information, please contact: Justine Starke, Manager, Service Delivery, Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area, CRD, 625 Fisgard Street 250.360.3275.

    The public input period is now complete.

    Share Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Survey on Facebook Share Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Survey on Twitter Share Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Survey on Linkedin Email Magic Lake Estates Community Issues Survey link