Approximately 150 community members—a full house—attended our October 22, 2023 Town Hall for an engaging 2.5 hours of information and updates and questions and concerns from the audience relating to issues taken on by the Pender Harbour and Area Residents Association (PHARA) on behalf of local residents.
The event started with information on who and what PHARA is and introductions to the nine current Board members: Kim Allinson, Ron Badley, Bill Charlton, vice-president Guy Halford-Thompson, Eliza Kinley, Sean McAllister, Sage Robson, president Peter Robson and treasurer John Verver. It was followed by an appeal for volunteers. A number of reports by PHARA directors are included below.
Dock Management Plan
Note that the Town Hall DMP report was compiled prior to the announcement of the proposed new amendments. Sean McAllister provided a history of the DMP and our efforts to date. Click here for the full report. While some progress has been made, we continue our efforts to insist on further changes in regard to the dock width issue, the light penetration issue and the establishment of zones. Click here for the full report.
Section 7
Guy Halford-Thompson provided us details of an upcoming agreement being forged between the shíshálh Nation and the Province taking place behind closed doors under the auspices of Section 7 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Right now, this is primarily a Pender Harbor issue but we believe we need to think beyond that, because what happens here, will set a precedent for all of British Columbia. It’s really important that residents are educated on what this means and its various implications. Click here for the full report.
Community Flower Gardens
Bill Charlton reported on an idea to maintain our Community Gardens adjacent to the Community Hall and Bargain Barn. Don Fraser was the moving force behind the gardens and funding the work out of his own pocket. Don is now retired and he wants to move back to the mainland. We need to come up with a solution to maintain these beautiful gardens. Click here for the full report.
Pender Harbor Community Wellness Project
About three years ago, a local concerned taxpayer, mentioned that he had funds available to make town improvements but he only did it on condition that we had a long-term plan for the town—10 or 20 years—of what the community could look like. Maggy Spence, who just happened to be completing a Masters degree with UBC on a similar field as town planning, agreed to help with a vision and she has been working on this for nine months now to develop a Pender Harbor Community Wellness Project. Click here for her full report.
Paq Creek Project
PHARA is looking for partners for an exciting project to daylight a portion of Paq Creek that currently runs through a failing culvert underneath the Madeira Park Elementary School playing field. Click here for the full report.
Incorporation
We’re hearing from many members of the community suggesting we revisit incorporating some or all of Area A into a municipality. Click here for the full report. Ocean Cleanup The idea of cleaning up some of the underwater junk such as old fishing nets, batteries and such in Pender Harbour has been on our radar for a number of years now. Click here for the full report.
Ocean Cleanup
The idea of cleaning up some of the underwater junk such as old fishing nets, batteries and such in Pender Harbour has been on our radar for a number of years now. Click here for the full report.
