Fraser Valley Regional District
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Valley
The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km² (5,159 sq mi), which is more than twice that of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island.
The FVRD is located in the southwestern portion of BC, and is bordered by Whatcom County, Washington to the south, the Greater Vancouver Regional District to the west, and the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District to the east. The northern border falls just south of towns of Whistler and Lytton.
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[edit] Population
The FVRD has a total population of 257,031 people in 6 municipalities and 8 electoral areas. The following table breaks down each member municipality and electoral area according to population statistics from the 2006 Canadian census.
| Area | Population |
|---|---|
| City of Abbotsford | 123,846 |
| City of Chilliwack | 69,217 |
| District of Mission | 34,505 |
| District of Hope | 6,185 |
| District of Kent | 4,738 |
| Village of Harrison Hot Springs | 1,573 |
| Electoral Area "A" | 478 |
| Electoral Area "B" | 796 |
| Electoral Area "C" | 952 |
| Electoral Area "D" | 1,296 |
| Electoral Area "E" | 3,481 |
| Electoral Area "F" | 1,339 |
| Electoral Area "G" | 1,914 |
| Electoral Area "H" | 394 |
[edit] Services
While the member municipalities provide for their own municipal services the FVRD acts as the local government for the electoral areas. As a local government or regional district it can provide such services as water piping, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, street lighting, waste management, fire protection, mosquito control, E911 service, emergency preparedness/recovery, cablevision, air quality monitoring, library funding, growth management, park maintenance, building inspections and bylaw enforcement, planning, development approvals etc. Each area does not necessarily receive all these services so each electoral area pays property taxes, through the provincial government, in accordance with the particular services they receive. The FVRD has opted to implement a regional growth strategy, as allowed by Section 25 of the BC Local Government Act.
[edit] Political structure
The regional district is a federation of municipalities and electoral areas. Each municipality appoints councillors to the board of directors for the regional district in proportion to their relative population sizes and the electoral areas directly elect one director each.
[edit] Economy
Economically, the area has grown around resource extraction, specifically farming, logging and gravel mining. Much of the Fraser Valley's land base is located within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). Retirement and recreational services (like campgrounds, RV parks, boating, skiing etc.) have become increasingly important. However, most commercial and industrial activities are kept within the municipal boundaries and leaving the electoral areas for farming and rural residential uses.
[edit] Electoral area, geography, and climate
The areas in a regional district that are not incorporated are called ‘electoral areas’. In the FVRD the electoral areas consists mostly of uninhabitable steep slopes of many snow-capped mountains. Most communities sit picturesquely between these slopes and the Fraser River. A major highway and rail line connect these communities to each other and to Vancouver. Most of the farms are located in valleys between mountains. Moderated but not always directly influenced by the Pacific Ocean, the valley floor has the mildest climate in Canada. Moderate to high rainfall occurs in winter, only a few days a year does it snow but in some winters, not at all. Summers are dry with generally comfortable temperatures and only occasional hot days.
[edit] Electoral area "A"
Boston Bar and North Bend, with populations nearing 200 people each, are the two main small towns in this area. Both communities are old logging towns that are now in decline since its saw mills closed. Other residents of this area live in small subdivisions (ie. Canyon Alpine and Falls Creek) or Indian reserves which line the Fraser Canyon. There is also a popular rafting resort and campground located on the Nahatlatach River.
They both sit on a terrace about 40 to 50 m (about 130 to 160 ft) above the Fraser River in the Fraser Canyon. The Fraser Canyon consists of tall mountains with forested steep slopes that create landslides, snow avalanches and debis flow hazards. These hazards not only threaten the towns and Indian reserves but also the highway and railway tracks which are the only means of transportation passing through the area.
[edit] Electoral area "B"
Communities in this area are connected by three highways (Highway #1, #3, #5) which radiate out of the District of Hope. The communities of Dogwood Valley, Emory Creek, and Choate are just north of Hope and have a combined population of about 133 people. An old logging town, Yale, with a population of 171 people is situated north of Dogwood Valley. Yaletown in Vancouver is named after this logging town. Sunshine Valley is a very isolated community of 164 people notable for its proximity to failing mountain slopes and the 1965 Hope Slide. Other communities in this area include Laidlaw and Spuzzum.
[edit] Electoral area "C"
This area is dominated by Harrison Lake which is connected to the Fraser River by Harrison Bay and Harrison River. Communities in this area include Lake Errock (368 people west of Harrison Bay), Harrison Mills (141 people north of Harrison Bay), and the resort town of Hemlock Valley (15 permanent residents but several hundred visitors during the ski season). Also, there are several Indian reserves north of Harrison Lake and vacation homes on islands in Harrison Lake.
[edit] Electoral area "D"
The population of this area lives in the unincorporated villages of Popkum and Bridal Falls which are located between some 1500 m (5,000 ft) high mountains and the Fraser River. Combined they have a population of 972 people. This is also the site of the Popkum Slide and the Cheam Slide which occurred thousands of years ago when large parts of these mountains broke off.
Wahleach Lake lies in the middle of the area and is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Hydroelectricity is generated here in a power station on the opposite side of a western mountain. It is connected to the lake by a pipe that was drilled right through the mountain.
[edit] Electoral area "E"
The Chilliwack River runs east-west through this area. Most of the population live in the small area between the mountains and the river, which is generally divided into three areas: Slesse Park, Baker Trails and Bell Acres. This is one of the most desirable places to live in the region because of its peaceful and picturesque location. However, development possibilities are greatly restricted due to natural hazard possibilities, such as flooding, debris flows, and erosion.
Other residents of this area live on the north end of Cultus Lake. The beaches at Cultus Lake are a popular destination for the residents of Chilliwack and Abbotsford. The Columbia Valley, south of Cultus Lake, is a farming community that continues into Washington state.
[edit] Electoral area "F"
The population here lives exclusively in the very southern tip of this large electoral area, between Stave Lake and Hatzic Lake. Everything north of Stave Lake is inaccessible or uninhabitable. The inhabited area can be broken into two sections: Miracle Valley and Hatzic Prairie, which includes the farming town of Durieu.
Hatzic Prairie and Durieu consist of picturesque farmland that is flanked on three sides by mountains. A slough, and many streams and ditches run through the area and drain into Hatzic Lake which drains into the Fraser River but is controlled via dykes to prevent flooding of the prairie. However, heavy precipitation creates debris flow and floods from the creeks that come off the surrounding mountains. This occurs every few years and is made much worse (more frequent and more destructive) by clear-cut logging, vegetation removal, and logging roads on the mountains in the drainage basin of the creeks.
Miracle Valley is also flanked on three sides by mountains but has Stave Lake on its northern flank. The most dangerous creeks come off the eastern mountain and flow into a small lake named Allan Lake.
[edit] Electoral area "G"
This small but populous electoral area is just north of the Fraser River and contains mostly flat farm land. There are 149 people in the farm town of Deroche, and 534 people on flat, oddly-shaped Hatzic Island. The rest of the population lives in low-density rural areas or on Indian reservations. This area was first settled by French Canadians during the gold rush times and many of the French names still exist in the area.
[edit] Electoral area "H"
This area consists of the majority of Sumas Mountain. The lots have a minimum size of 2.74 ha (5 acres) and are generally very expensive. The mountain is forested and relatively small but has an excellent view of the Fraser Valley on its southern side and the Fraser River and Hatzic Prairie on its northern side.
[edit] References
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