At the recent East Sooke all candidates meeting Alanda Carver, candidate for JDF Director, stated that if elected she would require third party covenants to be registered on properties as a condition of subdivision. Covenants that last forever and a day, or until the Rapture, are the darlings of her campaign advisors, but they are not appropriate for simple subdivision.
Third party covenants (with The Land Conservancy etc.) are used to preserve wetlands and other environmental features such as the recent Orveas Bay dedication in Otter Point or the DeManiel Creek watershed.
People who simply subdivide have every right to go before the community in the future, for example when a Community Plan has designated their area for higher density, to apply to have a covenant removed and be treated the same as their neighbors.
Carvers’ plan to expand the use of “forever” covenants by the CRD would be a major policy change that has serious implications for the families of Juan De Fuca property owners.
Janice St. John
East Sooke