FAQ's

The proposal involves adding approximately 1.5 hectares of riparian and floodplain parkland at 957 Lee Road (formerly 1236 Island Highway West) to French Creek Community Park. In exchange, about 0.5 hectares of Lee Road Community Park, located beside the French Creek Pollution Control Centre (FCPCC), will be transferred to RDN Wastewater Services for facility expansion. This exchange is necessary to:

• Support immediate and urgent upgrades to the aging FCPCC to meet the needs of a growing community.
• Allow the FCPCC Expansion project to construct the lowest cost, most efficient and safest design option.
• Increase the total amount of designated community parkland by approximately 1 hectare.
• Support the protection the riparian area along French Creek.
• Enable the future extension of the existing public trail in French Creek Community Park to connect with the Island Highway.

The exchange supports upgrades to accommodate a growing population and improve treatment capacity, system reliability and efficiency. Specifically, the exchange provides FCPCC with essential space to build a new Operations Services building and reserve areas for future plant expansion phases that will accommodate population growth up to 100,000 people. Overall, the exchange will result in the same amount of developable land available for the FCPCC to expand in the future.

The 1.5-hectare addition to French Creek Community Park protects sensitive riparian and floodplain habitat along French Creek, helping conserve fish and wildlife values.  It also creates an opportunity for a new public trail connection to the Island Highway, supporting both environmental stewardship and low-impact recreation.

Approval will follow the Alternative Approval Process (AAP) as required by legislation, including elector approval through an AAP, and a formal process for removing the park land dedication from a portion of Lee Road Community Park and dedicating a portion of  957 Lee Road (formerly 1236 Island Highway West) adjacent to French Creek as park land.  

• The land exchange aligns with the Board’s strategic park goals, wastewater goals and environmental goals. Previous delegations to the Board have requested the land exchange and the exchange itself will not impact tax requisitions.
• The shorter timeline of an AAP can achieve the FCPCC project schedule and prevent potential delays.
• The AAP is significantly less costly than a referendum and requires fewer resources to manage.
• The AAP allows electors to submit responses at their convenience over a period of at least 30 days following publication of the notice.

You only must submit a signed Elector Response Form if you are opposed to the land exchange. The signed Elector Response Form must be received in the RDN office by 4 p.m. July 7, 2025.

Electoral Area G resident electors and non-resident property electors.

You do not need to do anything. You only must submit a signed Elector Response Form if you are opposed to the land exchange.

The Elector Response Form can be found on the RDN website at: rdn.bc.ca/alternative-approval-process-lee-road-community-park-land-exchange. 

AAP  – Elector Response Forms may be submitted:

• In person to: Regional District of Nanaimo, 6300 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, B.C. 
• By email to: vote@rdn.bc.ca or
• By fax to: 250-390-4163

All Elector Response forms must be received in the office of the RDN of 4:00 p.m. on Monday July 7, 2025.

Formal input on the OCP Amendment can be submitted to planning@rdn.bc.ca and must be received by the close of the public hearing which will be held on: 

June 26, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

Location: St. Columba Presbyterian Church, 921 Wembley Road, Parksville, B.C.

All persons who consider their interest in property to be affected by the proposed bylaw shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard in person or by written submission at the public hearing. Written submissions can also be provided in advance of the public hearing and must be received at the RDN Administration Office by 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 24, 2025, to ensure their inclusion in the public record. Please do not include personal or confidential information about yourself or others in your written submission. Written submissions may be submitted by email to planning@rdn.bc.ca or by mail or in person to 6300 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, B.C., V9T 6N2.

It is to align the OCP land use designations with the proposed property boundaries. 

• Lot A: To redesignate approximately 0.38 hectares of the land from Institutional to Parkland/Greenspace/Natural Area adjacent to French Creek. The proposal will add an additional linear strip to the existing Parkland/Greenspace/Natural Area land use designation adjacent to French Creek. The proposal is to realign the OCP land use boundaries to be consistent with the proposed Land Exchange boundaries. In addition, approximately 1.51 hectares of the Parkland/Greenspace/Natural Area is proposed to be dedicated as Park. The new Park will increase riparian protection adjacent to French Creek and will provide a trail connection from Lee Road West to the Island Highway.
• That part of Lee Road Community Park: to redesignate approximately 0.55 hectares of Lee Road Community Park from Parkland/Greenspace/Natural Area to Institutional. The proposal is to dispose of this section of the Park in exchange for parkland dedication adjacent to French Creek. The subject area is located on the north east portion of the park and is adjacent to Lee Road and the existing FCPCC. This land is the proposed location of the operations services building which is part of the FCPCC expansion project and a portion of which currently serves as a driveway entrance to the FCPCC site.

An OCP amendment is proposed to align the OCP land use designations with the proposed land exchange boundaries. Rezoning is not necessary because the current zoning permits both park and utility uses.

OCP Amendment  – The Local Government Act and RDN Development Application Notification Procedures and Fees Bylaw require that a public hearing notice be mailed or otherwise delivered to owners and tenants within 500 metres of the subject properties. Should Canada Post go on strike, notices may be delivered using a combination of hand delivery and courier and as such the public hearing may proceed.

The FCPCC is a wastewater treatment facility serving the communities of Parksville, Qualicum Beach and parts of Electoral Areas E and G in the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN).

Built in 1978 and last expanded in 1997, the FCPCC is operating near capacity and is undergoing urgent upgrades to improve odour control, replace aging infrastructure, accommodate population growth through to the year 2040, and increase treatment reliability and efficiency.

Without upgrades, the facility risks operational failures, environmental harm from insufficient treatment, regulatory non-compliance resulting in fines, increased emergency repair costs and restrictions on community development due to capacity constraints.

Funding will come from wastewater user fees, development cost charges and grants from senior government levels. Construction of the expansion is underway and is scheduled to be complete in 2027. Learn more about the project at: getinvolved.rdn.ca/french-creek-expansion.

If approved, the exchange would support a new 365-metre trail connecting French Creek Community Park to Island Highway West, improving local trail access. While the highway currently blocks a direct connection to the French Creek Estuary Nature Preserve, future links to a multi-use pathway along the highway are possible, as envisioned in the 2022 French Creek Active Transportation Plan.

Funding of $100,000 from Electoral Area G Community Works Funds is allocated in the 2025–2029 Financial Plan, with an additional $2,000 annually proposed for trail maintenance.