Gabriola Island: the bylaw audit

16 findings: 11 in bylaws not yet adopted, 5 in bylaws in force. Read on 2026-09-19. Every quotation is a link to the words themselves.

The Gabriola Island Local Trust Area also takes in Mudge Island (plan Bylaw 227, land use Bylaw 228) and DeCourcy Island (plan Bylaw 16, subdivision Bylaw 18, zoning Bylaw 44). Their bylaws are listed here and their findings carry their names.

The bylaws, and where each one stands

  • Gabriola Island Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 325, 2026 (not yet adopted). Read a first time, as amended, on 3 September 2026 and sent for referral to First Nations and agencies (resolutions GB-2026-067 and GB-2026-068, draft minutes of 3 September 2026, page 6). No second reading, community information meeting or public hearing date has been set. The staff report lists what is still to come, in this order: second reading, community information meeting, public hearing, third reading, Executive Committee approval, Provincial approval, adoption (agenda package of 3 September 2026, PDF page 87). The readings page of the bylaw has lines for the Executive Committee and the Minister (PDF page 90). The text read is Attachment 1 of that package, PDF pages 89 to 175. It would repeal Bylaw 166. An earlier draft dated 19 May 2026 is listed by the Trust among its adopted bylaws.
  • Gabriola Island Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 166 (in force). In force. The published consolidation is dated 26 July 2022. Amending Bylaws 318 (adopted 21 May 2026) and 321 (adopted 16 July 2026) are not in it. Proposed Bylaw 325 would repeal it.
  • Gabriola Island Land Use Bylaw No. 177 (in force). In force. The published consolidation is dated 31 January 2023. Amending Bylaws 319 (adopted 21 May 2026) and 322 (adopted 16 July 2026) are not in it. Staff say the land use bylaw will be updated for consistency with Bylaw 325 in the current phase of the review; no amending bylaw has been drafted in a 2026 package.
  • BC Ferries terminal rezoning (GB-RZ-2023.1) (not yet adopted). On 3 September 2026 the committee deferred consideration of second reading until 30 September 2027 (resolution GB-2026-064).
  • Mudge Island Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 227 (in force). In force since 2008. No amendment in progress in 2026.
  • Mudge Island Land Use Bylaw No. 228, 2007 (in force). In force; consolidated November 2018. Not in our library. The listing serves the right document.
  • DeCourcy Island Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 16, Subdivision Bylaw No. 18 and Zoning Bylaw No. 44 (in force). In force; consolidated 2011, 1983 and January 2008. Not in our library. Each listing serves the document its title names, but see the publication finding on how Bylaw 44 is filed.

Correspondence Tony Aly reported sending

Tony confirmed sending the following letter on 3 October 2026. The text shown is the version we supplied for sending, with URLs written out for plain-text email. We have not independently verified the exact transmitted copy or received a response to this letter.

Gabriola OCP Bylaw 325 – housing amount and development permit rules before the next reading

Reported sent:
To: northinfo@islandstrust.bc.ca

Read the prepared letter
Dear Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee,

Please confirm the current stage of Bylaw 325 and publish the text as amended at first reading. I have read the published draft and the specific findings and linked passages (https://abolishislandstrust.org/bylaw-audit/gabriola).

The plan states a 20-year housing need of 1,196 units but does not identify the amount of residential development it provides for. It renumbers development permit areas without matching the guideline numbers in Land Use Bylaw 177, and section 2.11 promises guidelines it does not contain. A covenant policy cites a siting policy instead of the special-use policy it appears to mean. The draft also refers to a Part 4 and Appendix A that are absent. These issues affect readers trying to understand where housing and permits are possible.

Please reconcile the plan with the land use bylaw and publish a clear statement of planned housing amount, type, location and density before further readings. Please answer each cited finding, including any resolved in the amended text, and explain how the 1,196-unit housing-needs estimate informed the plan. I am not asserting that the LTC must authorize exactly that number. This request is for a usable community plan, not a request to reject housing.

Sincerely,
Tony Aly

A letter you can send

Bylaw 325 is a whole new community plan that would repeal the present one. It was read a first time, as amended, on 3 September 2026 and sent for referral. Second reading, a community information meeting, a public hearing and third reading are all still to come, and after them the Executive Committee and the Minister. This is the stage at which the text is easiest to correct, so the letter goes to the local trust committee, through the Islands Trust Northern Office.

To: the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee
Subject: Proposed Bylaw No. 325, the new Gabriola Island Official Community Plan: comments before second reading

To the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee,

I am writing about proposed Bylaw No. 325, the new Gabriola Island Official Community Plan, which you read a first time on 3 September 2026. [Say here whether you own, rent or live on Gabriola Island, and where.]

These are the points that concern me:

- The plan reports a 20 year housing need of 1,196 units, says housing should be limited, and nowhere states the amount of residential development it provides for.
- Bylaw 325 renumbers the development permit areas, and the guidelines in Land Use Bylaw 177 are filed under the old numbers.
- Section 2.11 says it specifies guidelines for each development permit area, and it contains none.
- The plan refers to Appendix A, to Part 4 and to four main parts. It has Appendices 1 to 3 and three parts.
- The policy that ties a covenant to land subdivided for special uses points at Policy 2.4.15.1, which is the general siting policy and lists no uses.

The words of the bylaw behind each point are quoted, with a link to the place they can be read, at https://abolishislandstrust.org/bylaw-audit/gabriola

Please have these corrected before second reading, and please publish the text as amended on 3 September so that residents can read what was actually given first reading.

Yours respectfully,
[Your name]
[Your address on Gabriola Island, or your interest in the trust area]

Open an email to northinfo@islandstrust.bc.ca

Change anything you do not agree with, and say who you are and where you live or own land. A few sentences in your own words are worth more than ours.

In bylaws not yet adopted

These can still be fixed.

Something left out · in a bylaw not yet adopted

Section 2.11 says it specifies guidelines for each development permit area, and it contains none.

The 19 May 2026 draft printed applicability, exemptions and guidelines for all ten areas. The text read a first time keeps only the designation, justification and objectives. The Local Government Act, s. 488(2)(b), says the plan must specify guidelines, and s. 488(3) allows them to be in a zoning bylaw instead (BC Laws, read 19 September 2026). The plan does not say that the guidelines are in the land use bylaw, and its only words on the subject say they are here.

Something left out · in a bylaw not yet adopted

The plan reports a 20 year housing need of 1,196 units, says housing should be limited, and nowhere states the amount of residential development it provides for.

The Local Government Act, s. 473(1)(a), says a plan must include statements and map designations respecting "the approximate location, amount, type and density of residential development required to meet anticipated housing needs over a period of at least 20 years" (BC Laws, read 19 September 2026). The plan recites that requirement in section 1.3.2. Section 1.2.4 gives the Housing Needs Assessment figures, says the assessment has limited value, and says provision of housing should be limited. The only housing number in the policies is a cap of 12 additional secondary dwelling units by rezoning. The minimum lot size for new subdivision is 35 hectares. The minutes of 3 September 2026 record that staff will discuss the Ministry requirement to reference the Housing Needs Report and report back. The Minister has to approve this bylaw.

Two rules that cannot both be obeyed · in a bylaw not yet adopted

Bylaw 325 renumbers the development permit areas, and the guidelines in Land Use Bylaw 177 are filed under the old numbers.

In Bylaw 325, area 6 is Environmental Protection, 7 is Escarpment Areas, 8 is Village Commercial, 9 is Multi-Unit Residential and 10 is Industrial. In Land Use Bylaw 177, Part F, DP-6 is Escarpment Areas, DP-7 is The Village Centre, DP-8 is Multi-dwelling Affordable Housing, DP-9 is Light Industrial Use and DP-11 is Environmental Protection. Bylaw 177 also sets a 7.5 metre building setback by reference to Development Permit Area No. 6 as delineated in Bylaw 166, which clause 5 of Bylaw 325 repeals. If Bylaw 325 were adopted before the land use bylaw is amended, a permit applicant in area 7 would be sent to the village guidelines and the bluff setback would refer to a repealed plan. Staff say land use bylaw updates are planned in this phase.

Two rules that cannot both be obeyed · in a bylaw not yet adopted

The plan says "must" is kept for provincial requirements and "shall" is avoided, then uses both for rules of its own.

Section 1.1.5 tells the reader how to weigh the words. Under that rule a policy that says "must" restates provincial law. Policy 2.7.3.4 says applicants for commercial uses must provide a conditional provincial water licence, and Policy 2.4.11.2 says property owners must implement a chance find protocol. Policies 2.5.15.2 and 2.5.15.5 and section 1.1.4 say "shall". A landowner cannot tell whether these are requirements of the plan, restatements of provincial law, or guidance. Section 1.1.5 also calls the bylaw "the draft OCP".

Two rules that cannot both be obeyed · in a bylaw not yet adopted

The plan gives three different spans for the review that produced it.

Section 1.1.1 says the review took place 2024 to 2026. Section 1.3.4 says Phase 1 was launched in 2023. Section 3.2 says the Freshwater Footprint was developed as part of the 2020 to 2026 review. The staff report of 3 September 2026 says the project began in 2023.

A reference to something that does not exist · in a bylaw not yet adopted

The plan refers to Appendix A, to Part 4 and to four main parts. It has Appendices 1 to 3 and three parts.

The May draft had four parts. The development permit areas were moved into Part 2 and the old Part 4 became Part 3, and the references were not updated. Section 1.1.5 sends the reader to Appendix A for the definitions that govern interpretation; the definitions are Appendix 1. Section 2.2 places the advocacy policies in part 4. Part 3 describes itself as going beyond Part 2 and Part 3.

A reference that lands on the wrong subject · in a bylaw not yet adopted

The policy that ties a covenant to land subdivided for special uses points at Policy 2.4.15.1, which is the general siting policy and lists no uses.

Policy 2.7.1.2 requires a covenant, housing agreement or other instrument for land transferred to support the uses in Policy 2.4.15.1. That policy is about setbacks and lot coverage. The list of uses (park, conservation, community service, heritage, utilities, public infrastructure, non-market housing) is in Policy 2.4.16.1, which is also the policy that exempts those uses from the 35 hectare minimum lot size. A landowner relying on the exemption cannot tell from the text which uses the covenant rule attaches to.

A term used and never defined · in a bylaw not yet adopted

Policy 2.5.3.2 applies to lands designated "Small Island/Islet", and the plan has no designation of that name.

The list of designations in section 2.5 names Small Island Stewardship (SI). The paragraph under that heading calls it the Small Island (SI) designation, and the policy that puts these lands in a development permit area calls it Small Island/Islet. Policy 2.7.2.7 likewise says Agricultural designation where the list says Agriculture (A).

How it was done · in a bylaw not yet adopted

The bylaw names a Minister by a title the committee itself no longer uses, and the committee read it under a citation that is not the one in the bylaw.

The readings page has a line for approval by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The committee's own resolutions in 2026 send plan bylaws to the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. Clause 1 cites the bylaw as Gabriola Island Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 325, 2026. Resolution GB-2026-067 read a first time a bylaw cited as Gabriola Island Official Community Plan, 2026.

Numbering and proofreading · in a bylaw not yet adopted

Two policies are numbered 2.5.15.4, Objective 2.2.2.3 is missing, and the text read a first time still has words left over from drafting.

The staff report says numbering was addressed before first reading and more formatting will follow. What remains: two different policies both numbered 2.5.15.4; the objectives run 2.2.2.2 then 2.2.2.4; the public is spelled "pubic"; the Policy Statement paragraph speaks of "the draft Islands Trust Area"; and a definition reads "means ana area".

Numbering and proofreading · in a bylaw not yet adopted

The 19 May 2026 draft the Trust still lists has policies numbered under the wrong sections and a reference to a policy number that cannot exist.

This is the draft the Trust's document library lists, under adopted bylaws. The staff report of 3 September 2026 says the first draft was open for public review from 16 June to 31 July 2026. Under heading 2.4.2.7 the policies are numbered 2.4.2.8.1 and 2.4.2.8.2, and the next heading reuses 2.4.2.8.1. The subdivision section has a Policy 2.4.13.2 that depends on a Policy 2.4.13.1. Policy 2.5.2.1.4 refers to "2.5.2.1.13.1". Most of this was repaired before first reading; the wrong cross-reference in the covenant policy was carried forward in a new form (see the first finding).

In bylaws in force

A reference that lands on the wrong subject · in a bylaw in force

The zones that allow a secondary suite make it subject to section B.6.3, which is Commercial Vacation Rentals. The secondary suite rules are section B.6.6.

The Small Rural Residential, Large Rural Residential, Forestry, Resource and Resource Residential 2 zones each permit a secondary suite on lots of 2.0 hectares or larger "subject to" B.6.3. Section B.6.3 has one article, which prohibits short term rental. The rules on size, location, water and number of suites are in B.6.6, which no zone cites. A landowner who follows the reference finds none of the conditions that apply.

A leftover from an older bylaw or a repealed law · in a bylaw in force

Land Use Bylaw 177 still cites the Municipal Act by section number for subdivision for a relative, highway frontage and its own definitions.

The bylaw cites sections 5, 872, 941 and 946 of the "Municipal Act". The provision for a residence for a relative is now section 514 of the Local Government Act, and the Act's last numbered section is 797 (BC Laws, read 19 September 2026). Six places in the commercial zones name the Ministry of Transportation and Highways while section B.4 names the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The riparian exemption relies on the Water Act. BC Laws shows chapter 483 of the Revised Statutes under the title Water Users' Communities Act with sections 2 to 50 repealed, and the Water Sustainability Act speaks of the Water Act as the earlier law (read 19 September 2026). A reader cannot look up the provisions the bylaw depends on under the names it gives.

What the Trust has published · in a bylaw in force

The plan and land use bylaw the Trust publishes for Gabriola are dated 2022 and 2023, and four amending bylaws adopted in 2026 are not in them.

Bylaws 318 and 319 (750 Tin Can Alley, a new Village Commercial 3 zone) were adopted on 21 May 2026. Bylaws 321 and 322 (propane storage in the Institutional 2 zone, and a change of designation to Village Commercial) were adopted on 16 July 2026. On 19 September 2026 the listings still served the consolidations of 26 July 2022 and 31 January 2023, byte for byte the copies we hold. Anyone reading the published bylaw will not find the Village Commercial 3 zone.

What the Trust has published · in a bylaw in force

The Trust files DeCourcy Island's zoning bylaw under maps and files its zoning map under adopted bylaws.

In the Trust's document library on 19 September 2026 the entry titled Decourcy Island Zoning Bylaw No. 44 has the type Maps and the sub-type Official Community Plans. The entry titled Decourcy Island Sch A - Zoning Map - Bylaw No. 44 has the type Adopted Bylaws. A person who filters the library for Gabriola's adopted bylaws finds the map and not the bylaw. Both links serve the document their title names. The same library lists the 19 May 2026 draft community plan for Gabriola under Adopted Bylaws.

Numbering and proofreading · in a bylaw in force

Part F of Land Use Bylaw 177 runs F.9 then F.11, and several section numbers are set without their spaces or full stops.

There is no F.10. The heading for F.6.2 is printed "F.6.2Exemptions" and one zone cites "Article B1.1.2". These are small, and they are in the consolidation the Trust publishes as the working copy of the bylaw.

What we checked and found sound

  • Bylaw 325 as read a first time (package pp. 89 to 175) read in full except the advocacy bullets of section 3.4, which were skimmed. Pages 131 and 136 were rendered as images to confirm the package is a clean copy and not a tracked-changes print.
  • The 19 May 2026 draft (103 pages) read in full and compared with the first-reading text.
  • Land Use Bylaw 177: every lettered cross-reference (142 of them, such as "Section B.3" or "Article B.6.4.1") checked by script against the section numbers that exist. All exist. The one wrong target (B.6.3 for B.6.6) was found by reading.
  • Live listings for Bylaws 177, 166 and Mudge 227 downloaded on 19 September 2026: SHA-256 identical to the copies our text was made from.
  • Listings for Mudge Land Use Bylaw 228, DeCourcy plan 16, subdivision bylaw 18, zoning bylaw 44 and its map: each serves the document its title names.
  • Minutes of every Gabriola committee meeting from 20 November 2025 to 3 September 2026 read for readings, hearings, referrals and adoptions.
  • The cross-reference auditor's two leads for Bylaw 177 (Subsections 3.1 and 1.2) are references to the 1980 zoning and subdivision bylaws, not to Bylaw 177. Its two leads for Mudge 227 are the bylaw's own description of its numbering system. None is a finding.

Open questions

Things that looked worth a second reading and that we could not prove. They are not findings.

  • Bylaw 325, Policy 2.7.1.3 (package p. 137): for a subdivided lot intended for residential or community use the applicant should demonstrate "Buildings and structures setback a minimum of 200m from the natural boundary of the sea" unless it is shown there is no effect on archaeological sites, sea level rise, erosion or saltwater intrusion. 200 metres matches the notification distance in Policy 2.6.1.2. It may be intended; it may be a carried-over number. Worth asking.
  • Bylaw 325, s. 1.3.2 (package p. 108): "In accordance with the LGA, the OCP should be reviewed and updated every five years". The only review duty we found in Part 14 is s. 473.1(5), which applies to "the council of a municipality". We did not search the whole Act, so this is a question, not a finding.
  • Bylaw 325, s. 1.3.2 (p. 108): "all decisions related to planning, subdivision, development, and land use matters must conform to the OCP". Section 478(2) of the Act speaks of bylaws enacted and works undertaken after adoption. The sentence may overstate the effect of a plan.
  • Bylaw 325, settlement timeline (p. 100): "upheld in the BC Supreme Court of Appeal Regina V. White & Bob" and "1940 - Across North America post WWII migration". A historian or the Nation should check both lines.
  • Bylaw 325, Policy 2.5.6.2 and Land Use Bylaw 177 both allow a secondary suite only on lots of 2 hectares or larger. Bylaw 325 s. 1.2.4 counts 589 vacant residential lots and s. 2.5.6 says many lots are small and predate the Trust. We did not measure how many lots the 2 hectare rule excludes; the parcel data could answer it.
  • Schedules B to E and Appendices 2 and 3 of Bylaw 325 are maps with no text layer. We did not check them against the policies that rely on them (freshwater hazard areas covering 3,152 parcels, per the staff report at p. 84). The committee asked on 3 September 2026 that the maps be rotated 180 degrees.
  • Mudge Island plan 227 cites sections 884(2), 911 and 946 of the Local Government Act (pages 23, 30 and 32). The Act's last numbered section is now 797. The paragraphs have no anchor on our copy, so this is recorded under needsAnchor rather than as a finding.
  • Were any other Gabriola amending bylaws adopted between February 2023 and May 2026? We read the minutes from November 2025 on, not the three years before.