Electoral area consent and petitions for services

Regional district electoral area directors may provide consent on behalf of their electors as participating area approval for a regional district service or loan authorization bylaw only in specified circumstances. To consent, the electoral area director must provide written consent to adoption of the proposed bylaw.

Electoral area consent may only be used if:

• The board receives a sufficient petition for a regional district service or loan authorization bylaw (meaning a petition from property owners that meets the legislative requirements)
• The service is one of the exceptions listed in section 339(2) of the Local Government Act that does not require a requisition limit, and the participating area includes all of the electoral area and the service can be established without borrowing

Electoral area consent process

If electoral area consent is based on a purpose listed in section 339(2) of the Local Government Act and the other legislative requirements are met, the electoral area director may consent in writing to the adoption of the bylaw.

If electoral area consent is based on a petition, the legislative requirements for a petition for electoral area services must be met in addition to the electoral area director consenting in writing to the adoption of the bylaw.

Requirements for petitions for electoral area services & loan authorizations

Property owners in an electoral area can petition the regional district for a service. The proposed service area may either be the whole electoral area or only a portion of it.

A regional district is not required to proceed with a service even if it receives a valid petition, however, in many cases petitions lead to the establishment of a service.

For a petition to be valid, it must be signed by owners of at least 50 percent of the parcels that would be liable to pay for the proposed service that represent at least 50 percent of the assessed value of land and improvements that would be in the proposed service area. The petition must also:

• Describe the proposed service in general terms
• Define the boundaries of the proposed service area
• Indicate the proposed methods of cost recovery for the service
• Contain other information that the regional district board may require

If it is proposed that the regional district borrow for the purposes of the service, the petition must also indicate, the:

• Relevant electoral participating area
• Purpose of the proposed borrowing
• Estimated amount of the proposed borrowing
• Maximum term of the loan