Bella Coola Valley Official Community Plan – Open Letter to the Community
August 25, 2026
An Open Letter to the Community
The Bella Coola Valley Official Community Plan and our efforts to engage the Nuxalk Nation
To the residents of the Central Coast Regional District,
The Board of Directors of the Central Coast Regional District (CCRD) is writing to inform our community that the Bella Coola Valley Official Community Plan (OCP) has been adopted, and to share an honest account of our efforts to engage, involve, and listen to the Nuxalk Nation throughout this work.
We are aware the Nuxalk Nation has raised concerns publicly about our consultation on the OCP. We take those concerns seriously. A summary timeline of our engagement is included below so our community has the full picture.
It’s also important for our community to understand the land base this Plan covers. The entire planning area lies within the unceded ancestral territory of the Nuxalk Nation, though the OCP itself does not extend to Nuxalk’s Reserve lands, over which the CCRD has no jurisdiction. Across the remaining lands, the CCRD’s authority varies: on fee simple, privately held parcels the CCRD generally leads land use decisions, working alongside partners such as the Agricultural Land Commission, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Nuxalk Nation; on unceded Crown land, the Province and the Nation hold far greater influence over decision-making than the CCRD does. Even where the Plan’s boundaries do not apply, such as on Reserve lands, the CCRD and the Nation share vital resources, including parks and water servicing, and Nuxalk’s input on these and other shared matters remains essential.
It’s also worth being clear about what this Plan can and cannot do. An Official Community Plan is a tool for local land use planning. It cannot legally declare, alter, or extinguish underlying Aboriginal title, which remains protected under Section 35 of the Constitution Act. Advancing this OCP does not change that legal reality and does not affect the Nation’s underlying rights and title in this territory.
Since 2022, CCRD staff have worked steadily to bring the Nuxalk Nation into this process, through leadership changes, elections, workshops, and presentations to Chief and Council, culminating in a community open house planned jointly with Nuxalk staff. In June 2025, the Hereditary Chiefs declined to take part in the session planned for them and declared the OCP process null and void. We respected that decision. Our community should also know it followed more than two years of sustained outreach.
The Board then formally referred the draft OCP to the Nation, with a 30-day review period that was extended twice at the Nation’s request and extended further still through a difficult period for the community following a bear attack in November 2025. In March 2026, the CCRD invited the Nation once more to submit comments. None were received, and to date the CCRD has received nothing from the Nation regarding the referral.
The CCRD has met its consultation obligations, and the Nation and the Stataltmc do not hold a veto over the OCP update. Even so, meeting that obligation is not the same as building the relationship we want with the Nuxalk Nation, and our Board remains committed to both.
The public hearing on the OCP took place, and we thank the Nuxalk members and community members who came forward to share their views. Following that hearing, the Board voted to adopt the Bella Coola Valley Official Community Plan. We moved forward because our community could not wait indefinitely for a plan it needs now. Adopting the OCP is not the end of our relationship with the Nuxalk Nation. It is one chapter in a much longer story, and the CCRD remains committed to reconciliation, to finding better ways of working together, and to hoping the Nation continues to engage with us on this and the many shared priorities ahead.
Sincerely,
Chair Kennedy
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Central Coast Regional District
