Our new normal

September is always a time when, after a summer of fun, we transition back to our normal routine. This year is no different, except we are going back to our new
normal.
Many of our kids are back in school classrooms this month. Please slow down and watch for them as they walk or ride their bikes to school. Going back to school is probably stressful for them, and they may not be paying attention.
When our summer vacations and activities come to an end, we buckle down at work again. This is true in so many ways this year. As the COVID numbers are climbing again, we are being asked to decrease the size of our bubbles and restrict our interactions with others. We have enjoyed warm weather and being able to see our friends this summer (if even just from two metres away), but now we need to scale back and get ready for a long and lonely fall and winter as we move many of our activities indoors. Remember to be kind to one another and check up on neighbours.
This will be difficult for many of us.
At the District, we are switching to fall mode too. We have a few projects we are starting to work on. We have some planned improvements on Wharf Avenue to change the parking to parallel parking and install a proper sidewalk. This project will improve the safety of pedestrians and drivers. We hope to go to tender this fall and do the work early next year.
We will also be reviewing our zoning bylaw and will be reaching out to you for your ideas before making any decisions. The zoning bylaw is the bylaw that regulates things like housing density, farm use in the agricultural land reserve, backyard chickens (we call this urban agriculture), home-based businesses and short-term rentals. I am sure there will be lots of interesting conversations on these topics. Follow us on social media and check the newspaper for ads on how you can become involved.
And finally, fall means the annual Union of BC Municipalities conference and meetings with Provincial MLAs. Council and elected officials from other Sunshine Coast municipalities are looking forward to addressing the concerns of our constituents with Provincial ministers this week. We have over 18 meetings with eight Provincial ministries scheduled.
We are rolling up our sleeves to get a few things done this fall, and we look forward to finding ways to continue to connect with you. It won’t always be easy, and it won’t be the way it used to be, but we can figure all this out together. As always, please remember to be patient, be kind and stay safe.