A plebiscite to determine whether Blewett residents want to be part of an official community plan being developed for their part of the Regional District of Central Kootenay will be conducted by mail.
Area director Ramona Faust says the ballots are currently being sent to 900 addresses in Blewett and along Highway 6 and should show up in mailboxes over the next week or two.
They ask: “Are you in favour of the revised community plan?”
They’re due back by the third week of January. Although non-binding, Faust has pledged to honour the majority will.
The community plan, intended to guide growth and development, has been particularly controversial in Blewett. About 80 people attended a public meeting in October on the plan, which would also cover Balfour, Harrop, Procter, and Queens Bay. Of 100 written comments, 64 opposed the plan. Others asked for changes.
“We have adopted almost all of the changes and suggestions, save for a couple of provincial land designations,” Faust said Thursday.
However, she said the revised package is too large to mail a copy to every homeowner — residents will have to go online to see it or stop by the RDCK office in Nelson.
Another public meeting is expected before the bylaw is considered for adoption in the rest of Faust’s area.