When urban development spreads into rural land, the change is permanent. The Urban Containment Boundary—or UCB—is the line that separates where urban growth should happen from the rural, agricultural and natural lands that should remain rural. Inside the boundary, North Cowichan plans for more homes, businesses, roads, sewer and water services. Outside it, development is supposed to remain limited. We need this boundary because without it, subdivisions can keep spreading outw

A review of the Hidden Hills proposal, council votes, and public-safety concerns.

Cowichan-based independent investigative reporter Larry Pynn continues his fall election coverage with his August 30, 2026 feature: ELECTION NOTEBOOK #1: A new feature column from Six Mountains leading to the October 17 municipal election. For the full story, visit sixmountains.ca. Reader note: Larry Pynn may mention the North Cowichan Coalition, but neither he nor other media are affiliated with our provincially registered Third-Party Sponsor group.

Saturday, September 19, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Maple Bay Fire Hall Hosted by the Quamichan Lake Neighbourhood Association. Attend in person or online. A livestream and recording are planned; connection details will follow. Thursday, September 24, 6:30 p.m. Moose Hall, 2244 Moose Road, North Cowichan Hosted by Clements Centre Society, Cowichan Valley Basket Society, Providence Farm and Volunteer Cowichan. Thursday, October 1, 7–9 p.m. Chemainus High School Multi-Purpose Room Do

How North Cowichan’s Official Community Plan protects rural character by containing urban sprawl and directing growth to serviced centres.

This quiz has three questions. Get them correct and you can start to save our future. THE SPRAWL QUESTION First, in what respect is the Cowichan Valley most different from Nanaimo, Langford, or Surrey? The answer is one word: Sprawl. Sprawl is endless low-density residential development interspersed with strip commercial along the major thoroughfares, punctuated by shopping malls that seem to sprout up like toadstools. It spawns endless traffic jams as residents criss-cross a

The Kingsview expansion is not on the ballot for our local election in October, but it may as well be. That’s because we can make an educated guess about how certain councillors are likely to vote, based on their history of consistently opening up rural areas to dense developments, changing the Urban Containment Boundary, and amending the Official Community Plan in order to do so. More about that at the end of this article. Many of you living within existing Kingsview neighbo

North Cowichan has land and applications — but affordability is the urgent housing issue for local households.

Every community lives within a watershed—and every watershed has limits. What happens when growth, roads and development demand more water and land than the Cowichan Valley can sustain?

Does the Cowichan Valley have sufficient water to support more growth? Or do our rivers run dry and our groundwater nose dive each summer, triggering Stage 2 and 3 water restrictions that dial back when we can water our lawns and gardens, and wash our trucks and cars? Do returning salmon struggle to survive because our rivers are too low? Are these faltering water supplies jeopardizing our safety because they reduce the water available to fight fires in our neighbourhoods and

Learning from our Mistakes When European settlers arrived in North America, they found a vast wilderness whose “green dark forest was too silent to be real,” as Gordon Lightfoot’s evocative lyrics remind us. For millennia, First Nations had lived gently on this land, respecting and accepting its natural rhythms, and preserving for posterity its diverse and abundant fish and wildlife. Wildfire was a naturally recurring and vital force for renewal and regeneration, usually trig

Low-density sprawl does not pay its way. Evidence from Canadian municipalities shows why dispersed development raises long-term infrastructure costs and property-tax pressure.

You’re not alone! Lots of people ask themselves this question. In 2022, just 8,546 people, or 32% of voters, participated in North Cowichan’s municipal election. Unfortunately, lowish voter turnout for local elections doesn’t just happen here. Duncan, Ladysmith and Nanaimo had even lower percentages, while for B.C. overall, the average turnout was around 35%. | Contrast this with a B.C. voter participation of 58% in the 2024 provincial elections, and the 2025 federal election