Select Committees provide advice and recommendations to Council on matters that are referred to them by Council or that are related to their mandates as outlined in their respective Terms of Reference. These recommendations form part of Council’s decision making on specific matters. 
 
 Select Committees typically meet monthly for approximately two hours except in July, August, and December. Terms of appointment are generally for two years unless otherwise specified when advertised. 
 
 As prioritized in Council’s 2013 Strategic Plan staff brought forward for Council’s review a revised committee system.  At the March 24, 2014 Committee of the Whole meeting Council reviewed a proposed new Committee Structure which involved creating three new committees (Sustainable Land Use Select Committee, Social Sustainability Select Committee and Heritage Select Committee) and principles for Terms of Reference.  Following that meeting staff distributed, by mail, an information brochure on the proposed committee structure asking the community for volunteers.

Council, at its June 2, 2014 Regular Council Meeting, accepted Terms of Reference for the Heritage Select Committee, the Social Sustainability Select Committee and the Sustainable Land Use Select Committee. Each committee shall consist of up to seven (minimum five) voting members as well as up to twenty non-voting electronic participants. 

Voting Members

Voting Select Committee members shall be appointed by Council and will be comprised of a minimum of five (5) and up to seven (7) community representatives (both resident and non-resident property owners).

Non-Voting Electronic Committee Members

The District will appoint up to twenty Electronic Participants to participate in all three committees (Sustainable Land Use Select Committee, Social Sustainability Select Committee and Heritage Select Committee). These E-Participants may, at their discretion, provide input to the Committees on specific issues that the Committees are addressing. The E-Participants will receive agendas and shall provide any comments they may wish to make to the Voting Committee for consideration at their meetings. 

E-participants shall be appointed by Council and may wish to participate in all or only some of the items the committee is working on through email correspondence.  E-Participants shall report back via the Corporate Officer.

Board of Variance

The Board of Variance is established under the provisions of the Local Government Act which requires each municipality that has enacted a Zoning Bylaw to establish and appoint members to a Board of Variance. 

The District of Highlands Board of Variance is a statutory committee composed of three volunteer members appointed by Council. The Board of Variance has the authority, upon receiving application, to grant minor variances from the Zoning Bylaw in situations where compliance with respect to siting, dimensions, or size of a building or structure would cause an applicant undue hardship. Variances may not vary the density or the permitted use of land. 

The Board of Variance may also grant relief from a requirement contained in the Tree Bylaw within certain limitations where it is satisfied that compliance would cause the applicant undue hardship. 

Meetings of the Board of Variance are dependent upon the submission of applications. Terms of appointment are generally for three years unless otherwise specified when advertised. 

For more information, please refer to the Board of Variance Bylaw No. 248, 2005.

Board of Variance

The duties of the Board are specified in Section 540 of the Local Government Act.

Heritage Select Committee

The Heritage Committee will review the annual priority actions as established in Sustainable Highlands, taking into consideration the recommendations in the reports: Community Heritage Values, A Heritage Vision for the District of Highlands and Recommendations for a District of Highlands Heritage Register, and District of Highlands Community Heritage Register.

Social Sustainability Select Committee

The Social Sustainability Select Committee will be responsible for reviewing the annual priority actions as established in Sustainable Highlands and make recommendations annually to Council regarding the Committee’s work plan and specific items within the work plan.

Sustainable Land Use Select Committee

The Sustainable Land Use Select Committee will be responsible for reviewing the annual priority actions as established in Sustainable Highlands and make recommendations annually to Council regarding the Committee’s work plan and specific items within the work plan.