The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) Board has completed a land acquisition initiative that will help protect water quality in Comox Lake.
An 18-hectare parcel of land located at the east end of the lake was purchased from the Comox Lake Land Corporation for just over $2 million. The land purchased includes approximately 2,000 metres of Comox Lake waterfront and is entirely located within the Village of Cumberland. It is one of the last remaining, large, intact waterfront parcels in the most densely populated area of the watershed. Its purchase by the CVRD ensures the land will be protected for future generations.
“This agreement is a great example of collaboration with property owners to do the right thing for the environment in order to preserve our shared watershed,” said Marc Rutten, general manager of engineering services at CVRD. “In doing so, we are all working towards ensuring high quality drinking water well into the future.”
The Comox Lake Land Corporation represents a group of cabin owners located on the east side of Comox Lake. The corporation will retain 15 of 61 total acres of land for their existing cabins. With an aim to assist the CVRD in its efforts to protect the watershed, cabin owners have agreed to a significant holdback of the purchase price in exchange for the upgrade of underperforming on-site septic systems within two years of the sale of the property.
In 2016, the CVRD completed the Comox Lake Watershed Protection Plan, which was developed under the guidance of an advisory group composed of key Comox Lake watershed stakeholders. The implementation of this plan is currently underway. The land acquisition addresses a key recommendation of the plan to strategically purchase land within the watershed for protection purposes.
The CVRD will consult with stakeholders to determine the next steps for protecting this parcel of land.
Top: An aerial photo looking north east from the public beach at Comox Lake shows the acquired land. Credit: CVRD.
