Skip to content

Klaus Kuhn re-elected in Youbou/Meade Creek, eyeing Youbou Lands development

Third-time director says lots of work to do
14076120_web1_13651614_web1_180921-CCI-ELECTION-Area-I-Kuhn_1
Klaus Kuhn has been re-elected as director for Youbou/Meade Creek. (File photo)

There’s much on Klaus Kuhn’s to-do list now that he’s been re-elected as the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s director for Electoral Area I (Youbou/Meade Creek).

Kuhn took 282 votes in Saturday’s municipal elections, beating out his only challenger, Gail Dawson-Russell, who had 107 votes.

It will be Kuhn’s third term at the director’s table, having served from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2018.

RELATED STORY: KUHN EYES THIRD TERM AS AREA DIRECTOR

Kuhn said one of his main priorities is to see a planned development at the Youbou Lands property move forward.

He said the land has been dormant for the past 10 years, and residents had been hoping that some commercial activity will soon take place there.

Kuhn said the plan is for a hotel/resort complex to be built there, along with a possible boat launch and marina, and the project is expected to have a residential component as well.

“The idea is for the facility to attract Chinese tourists to the area, and I’m presuming that the developers believe there will be enough traffic to justify the project,” he said.

“I’m planning a meeting for myself and the CVRD’s planning staff to discuss the plans with the developers and determine how best to proceed.”

Kuhn said a geological and hydrological study is currently underway on the mountain chain behind Youbou.

TimberWest had announced plans to log sections of the mountain area, raising concerns that taking the trees out could undermine the stability of the hillside, leading to land and rock slides.

“That study should be completed sometime early in the new year, and then we’ll know if these concerns have any substance to them,” he said.

Kuhn said the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure had indicated that they will soon be upgrading a section of Youbou Road, about a two and half kilometre stretch between Bremner Road and the public road.

“Sections of that road need renewal, including areas where the road is very narrow,” he said.

“This was mentioned to me several months ago by ministry officials, so I’ll be checking to see what the status of those upgrades are,” he said.

Kuhn said he was against the two referendums that passed on Saturday that will allow the CVRD to set up new functions and collect a nominal tax for affordable housing and drinking water and watershed protection.

RELATED STORY: REFERENDUMS BOTH PASS

But he said that now that the two referendums have been passed, he will watch carefully as to how the funds are dispersed and ensure that the process is done “responsibly”.

Overall, Kuhn said he’s looking forward to his third term as director.

“I really enjoy the challenge,” he aid.

“There’s still lots of things that need to be done in the electoral area to further development, particularly on the Youbou Lands,” he said.



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter



Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
Read more