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Lantzville council declines report on water boundaries

Councillor asks for clearer distinction for public information purposes
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Lantzville District Hall . (NEWS BULLETIN file)

Lantzville councillors voted 4-3 against a motion that would have seen district staff prepare a report explaining the legal basis for water being provided to lower Lantzville properties.

Coun. John Coulson, who made the motion last week, told councillors he wanted to know the definition of upper and lower Lantzville because he believes that definition has changed over time.

“At some point our interpretation of what upper and lower Lantzville meant seems to have switched and basically my motion is asking for a report from staff clarifying how we can provide water to lower Lantzville,” he said.

Nanaimo and Lantzville signed a $1.3-million water sharing agreement back in 2014. The agreement allows for water connections to be made to 225 upper Lantzville homes already on the municipal water system, plus 50 new connections for development each year.

The water agreement defines the upper and lower Lantzville by a water boundary, not by Highway 19.

Coulson said the wording used by the district over the years has become confusing because it references upper and lower Lantzville but rarely indicate that it’s referring to the pressure zones, not either side of the highway. He said the district’s public information should have had better wording.

“All of the circulation to residents spoke to upper and lower Lantzville and we appear to be heading down this path where we appear to be playing semantics again or wordsmithing to try and interpret the agreement to an intent that may not and was likely not intended,” he said.

Coun. Bob Colclough said the agreement state both Nanaimo and Lantzville wouldn’t consider the highway as the dividing line but the water system as the dividing line for upper and lower Lantzville. He questioned why the motion was being raised because councillors have yet to discuss triggering the water agreement.

“We’ve never even discussed implementing it,” he said. “I don’t know where we are going with this.”

nicholas.pescod@nanaimobulletin.com