Bylaw to allow for proposed motorsport track expansion gets red light from North Cowichan council

Bylaw to allow for proposed motorsport track expansion gets red light from North Cowichan council
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Bylaw to allow for proposed motorsport track expansion gets red light from North Cowichan council

A zoning bylaw that would have allowed for the expansion of the Vancouver Island Motorsport facility in North Cowichan was voted down by North Cowichan council early Friday morning.

Two nights of public hearings drew hundreds of people to the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre Theatre on Tuesday and again Thursday night.

After more than nine hours of public comments, council debated past 1 a.m. before voting to not to proceed to third reading on the bylaw to rezone three properties at Cowichan Valley Highway and Drinkwater Road.

The rezoning would have allowed the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit (VIMC) to go ahead with plans to add a new five-kilometre paved track, a circuit for off-road vehicles and several buildings to its existing facilities.

The VIMC plans had the support of local chambers of commerce because of the economic benefits the facility has brought to the region, but it has also faced noise complaints from neighbours since it opened in 2016.

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