Committees are formed by Council with the intent to provide their advice on various issues that affect the District of Lake Country. View the meeting calendar for upcoming meetings. In addition to individual Terms of Reference, Committee's are governed by Council Procedures Bylaw 1105, 2019 as amended from time to time.
To see which Councillors are appointed to Advisory Committees for the 2022-2026 term:
Advisory Committee Appointments
To provide insights into improving accessibility in Lake Country, a new working group known as the Accessibility Committee was established in 2023 in accordance with the Accessible BC Act (ABCA), which is outside the legislation of Council Advisory Committees.
Prior to the establishment of the Accessibility Committee based on the ABCA, the Access & Age-friendly Committee was a long-standing advisory committee to Council.
The AAFC advised Council on access issues to District services for people of all ages and with all types of abilities.
The AAC reviews Agricultural Land Commission applications, and other land applications that affect agriculture, and provides recommendations to Council.
The Board of Variance is an appeal body consisting of three appointed members who hear and then decide upon variances to the Zoning Bylaw of the District of Lake Country. The Board of Variance provides citizens with an avenue for appeal on the interpretation and the strict application of certain local government provisions and regulations in specific circumstances defined in the legislation. The Board of Variance functions independently from municipal Council and has its own authority under the Local Government Act.
The Board of Variance is not an appeal board for local government policy decisions, and it cannot replace decisions of elected officials. The Board is confined to considering variances that will not impact adversely upon a policy decision or change the intent of the Bylaws adopted by municipal Council.
Variances can be granted respecting bylaw requirements for the siting, dimensions, or size of buildings. In some special cases general regulations or ones prohibiting structural changes in a non-conforming building or requiring services upon subdivision may result in an undue hardship, if applied to a particular site. The difficulty in determining what undue hardship is, and revolves around whether the hardship would have been a hardship for everyone. If compliance with the general setback regulations is difficult or expensive, but that is the case for all properties within the zone, there is not undue hardship. If a circumstance penalizes one or only a few owners, it would then be undue hardship. A person may appeal to the Board for a variance only if the application of these general regulations to his or her particular site would impose such a hardship. Otherwise the appropriate procedure to follow is the Development Variance Application process.
The Board of Variance meets when required rather than on a regular schedule.
See Bylaw 96-070 regarding the Board of Variance.
The EDTC provides recommendations and advice on local economic development and tourism issues.
PARC advises Council on parks, recreation, leisure services and culture issues.
WSAC advises Council on all water supply, distribution and protection issues.
Interested on sitting on a committee? Contact Corporate Services with information about your background, which committee you are interested in and the reasons for your interest. You may also email the Chair with any questions about the mandate and responsibilities of the committee.