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By Liam Verster

One Hectare Policy

Vernon mayor instrumental in maintaining septic tank regulations

Oct 12, 2023 | 6:30 AM

The Mayor of Vernon played a key role in keeping a regulation in place involving septic tank use.

During the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) conference in September, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen brought forward a resolution to do away with the ‘One Hectare Policy.’

The regulation in question does not permit any property less than one hectare in size being subdivided and then having septic tanks put in place.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Mayor Victor Cumming said he and the mayor of Lake Country spoke against doing away with the policy, and it was defeated at UBCM.

“The one hectare rule is very important. It prevents municipalities in the Okanagan and across B.C., but mainly in the Okanagan where we’re concerned, of subdividing land below one hectare and putting septic tanks on it, because we have no way of regulating septic tanks, and a lot of the old septic tanks are failing and there’s no way to enforce property owners to have the septic tanks function effectively,” Cumming explained.

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“That right away impacts our water bodies; both creeks, streams, ditches, the lake. We know this. We don’t need to re-learn this was my comment at UBCM, and that was exactly backed up by Lake Country.”

He added subdivided smaller properties need to be on sewer systems.

“If you’re going to do a land development and quarter acre lots, feel free, but it better be on a community sewer system so we can manage effectively the wastewater.”

Vernon’s mayor added that work has been underway since the 1970s in the Okanagan to deal with effluent in lakes, stating “we don’t want to start going backwards.”

In addition to defeating the call to end the One Hectare Policy, Cumming also issued two resolutions at UBCM.

One called for an update to the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters program, and the other proposed changes to temporary warming shelter funding and management, both of which passed at the conference.

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