The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George is changing how it will publish public notices about land use changes and other issues to the public.
On Thursday, the district board approved a bylaw to designate the regional district’s website and Facebook page as its primary method of posting public notices starting on Sept. 1. Previously, the default under provincial legislation was for the notices to be published in local newspapers for two consecutive weeks.
Karla Jensen, district general manager of legislative and corporate services, said because the only newspapers serving the regional district area are weekly publications, there have been issues where the requirement to publish public notices in two consecutive weeks has caused delays or challenges for the district to meet its statutory obligation to post the notices.
“It will eliminate the challenges of meeting the statutory requirements,” Jensen said.
The bylaw doesn’t change the district’s legal obligation to directly mail notices to residents within the notification radius of a proposed rezoning or other land use change, she added.
A policy adopted by the board on Thursday means that district may continue to publish notices in local newspapers, including the Prince George Citizen and Rocky Mountain Goat in Valemount. Those notices may be published less frequently and may be condensed, offering a link to the official notice on the regional district website. The definition of newspaper, under the policy, includes online-only news publications as well as traditional print newspapers.
Regional district CAO Jim Martin said the bylaw sets out how the regional district will meet its minimum statuary obligations, and the policy “raises the bar” of how the district will communicate with the public.
A survey done by the regional district, which saw 351 responses total, indicated nearly 47 per cent of respondents would prefer to receive notices by direct mail outs. Jensen said the cost and staff resources needed to mail out notices made that option impractical.
However, the district is looking at upgrading its website to allow residents to subscribe to receive notices by email, she said.
‘IT’S NOT OUR JOB TO FUND LOCAL JOURNALISM’
Prince George mayor and regional district director Simon Yu was the only director to oppose the bylaw.
“I always believe that supporting local journalism is important,” Yu said. “Not everybody reads social media, not everybody has Facebook.”
Newspapers, especially in smaller communities, play a key role in informing the public, he said.
“In the McBride area, newspaper is really important important,” McBride mayor and director Gene Runtz said.
Even though he doesn’t use it himself, Facebook is also an important source of information in the area, he added.
Director and Prince George city councillor Kyle Sampson said he’d like to see the district’s advertising opened up to all local media through a request for proposal process.
“We need to be looking at a fair process,” Sampson said. “It’s not our job to fund local journalism.”
