On November 7th 2025, The Gabriola Islands Trust approved a bylaw enforcement Policy custom for Gabriola and Mudge Island. (Click Here to Review) We just got a final copy last week.
The goal of this policy was to have a By Law Enforcement Policy that was consistent with the desires of the community and to reduce the ability of bylaws to be weaponized against the Island Community. The resulting policy limits bylaw enforcement for the near ternm on Mudge Island and aims to protect residents from excessive or unfair complaints, particularly those filed in bad faith. The highlights are as follows:
General Enforcement Policy
Deferred Enforcement: No active enforcement of the Mudge Island Land Use Bylaw (LUB) until a full review is completed by the Gabriola Local Trust Committee (LTC).
Exceptions: Enforcement will proceed for:
Derelict trailers and vehicles
Health and safety concerns
Interference with archaeological sites
Significant environmental damage
Enforcement for Older Structures & Accessory Uses
No enforcement for structures predating 2008 (unless they are expanded).
Accessory buildings and uses are allowed even if no principal residence exists, provided the adjacent parcel is under common ownership.
Complaint-Driven Enforcement
Enforcement only proceeds if two separate property owners in the neighborhood submit written complaints.
Exceptions: Health and safety, environmental, or archaeological concerns require only one complaint.
Inspection & Compliance Timelines
30 days' notice for site inspections (unless consent is given for earlier).
180 days to comply with a confirmed violation unless immediate health, safety, or environmental risks exist.
Vexatious Complaints & File Closure
Complaints deemed frivolous, repeat, or vexatious can be dismissed.
If a complainant’s identity cannot be confirmed or is false, the complaint is closed.
Files can be closed if compliance is unreasonable due to financial or specific circumstances.
There is still alot of work but this does provided a fraework that MICA, The Local Trust Comittee and bylaw enforcement believes will result in the closure of a number of files.
There is still work to be done. While we wait for Bylaw enforcement to take action on the open files, we will start working on the bylaws. This will be a tougher task and we will have to maintian everyone's focus on this to get the situation resolved properly. We will be looking for comunity input in the comming months on the direction that we want to take in regards to the by-laws - stay tuned.
In the meantime if you have any feedback, please email micabc@googlegroups.com
