WHEREAS municipalities have the ability to apply for boundary expansions with no ability for affected rural residents to influence such applications; AND WHEREAS such boundary expansions can have a significant impact on the rural residents and funding of the services they receive within the proposed expansion area: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM request the Province of British Columbia to review their policy in regards to boundary expansions to include an assent by referendum for those areas to be annexed.
Ministry of Community, Sport Cultural Development A boundary extension proposal should have the support of a majority of residents and property owners from the area of extension. The most appropriate method of gauging support from residents and property owners depends on the size of the area of extension and means appropriate to the municipality. In circumstances where there are few electors, requesting the consent or concerns of the property owners is more convenient for the property owners and more efficient for the municipality. Under the Local Government Act, the Minister has the authority to order an assent vote of the electors in the proposed boundary extension area, which is done when the areas population is significant or the proposal is controversial. For a boundary extension application to be considered complete by the Ministry, the municipality must provide documentation of its referral of the proposed boundary extension to the regional district for comments. Once the regional district receives the referral, it is up to the regional district to articulate potential impacts on the remaining portion of the electoral area. Where a proposed boundary extension would significantly harm the services to remaining rural residents, mitigation may be required from the municipality to reduce the negative impact.