Cortes Islanders have said no to a proposed dog control service, with around 23 per cent of electors voting against it in an Alternative Approval Process (AAP).
At the end of February, the Strathcona Regional District started the AAP process to establish the service. However, after 47 days just under a quarter of electors on Cortes voted against the service. Under an AAP, the measure is denied if over 10 per cent of electors vote.
“The dog control initiative was initially brought to the Board’s attention last year by a petition containing over 100 signatures from Cortes Island residents,” said SRD Chair Mark Baker. “The petition called upon the SRD to enact measures to control dogs on Cortes Island in response to instances of aggressive and threatening dogs. The proposed bylaw was the first step in determining what kind of regulations would have been appropriate for Cortes Island.”
If approved the service would have included an annual requisition of $0.03 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The petition asked the SRD to establish a bylaw that would have enabled police or another authority to contact the owner of any dangerous dogs, and order the dog be kept muzzled and leashed any time the dog is not on the owner’s property.
“There were a number of incidents on Cortes that that prompted a petition to create a dog control service,” said Cortes Island director Mark Vonesch in February when the AAP process began. “This is a divisive issue on Cortes and we’re going to to go back to the community for further consultation on the service through this Alternative Approval Process.”
Following this, the board would have to go to a referendum if they wished to continue pursuing the service. At the April 24 board meeting, Vonesch moved to support the results of the AAP and not pursue the Dog Control bylaw further.
RELATED: Dog Control service coming to Cortes Island if residents approve
Strathcona Regional District takes step towards Cortes Island dog control bylaw