Alternative Approval Process

Alternative Approval Process FAQs

• What is an AAP?

  Through the authority of the Community Charter, local governments can use the Alternative Approval Process to seek the electorate’s approval, when required, for matters such as long-term borrowing, establishing new services, entering into partnering agreements, disposing of parkland and seeking a boundary extension. Once an AAP process is underway, electors opposed to the matter, as authorized under Section 86 of the Community Charter, may complete an elector response form to register their opposition during the period when the AAP is being conducted.  If at the end of the AAP process, 10% of eligible voters in the City of Nanaimo have submitted forms stating their opposition, the Council must either abandon the initiative, or hold a referendum (also known as assent voting) to obtain approval of the electors in order for the initiative to proceed.

• How is the 10% threshold of electors determined?

  The 10% threshold of electors is based on the following:

  • The number of electors in the City of Nanaimo based on the provincial voting list used in the most recent municipal election
  • Plus the number of new electors registered during that election
  • Plus the number of non-resident property electors
  • Plus an estimate for population increase based on census data

• I’m in favour of the proposed bylaw; what do I need to do?

  If you are in favour of the adoption of the bylaw, no action is required.

   

• I’m opposed to the proposed bylaw; what do I need to do?

  If you are an eligible elector of the City of Nanaimo and you are opposed to the adoption of the bylaw you may complete and sign an AAP elector response form and submit it to the City of Nanaimo's Legislative Services department.

• Where can I obtain an AAP Elector Response Form?

  AAP Elector response forms are available during the AAP process at the Legislative Services counter at City Hall, 455 Wallace Street, Nanaimo, during regular business hours 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays, and on the City’s Alternative Approval Process webpage at Nanaimo.ca. 

   

• Can I pick up extra elector response forms on behalf of other individuals?

  A maximum of ten (10) printed copies of an elector response form will be provided per individual throughout the entire AAP process, as per Council's Alternative Approval Process Policy. 

• How do I submit my elector response form?

  Completed forms must be submitted by the deadline indicated on the notice, and can be submitted in any of the following ways:

  • In-person: at the Legislative Services Department, City Hall during regular business hours 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays
  • Mailed to:  455 Wallace Street, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5J6
  • Online: through a submission page on the City of Nanaimo’s website. A link to the webpage will be identified on the elector response form.

   

• If there is more than one person residing in a household in the City of Nanaimo, can each person submit an elector response form?

  Yes.  But only if each person meets the requirements of a resident elector.

   

• What if I live outside the City's boundaries but own property in the City. Can I submit an elector response form?

  Yes, if you are the sole owner of the property and it is not in a company or corporation’s name you are eligible to submit an elector response form.

• What if more than one non-resident owns the property? Can each non-resident property owner sign an elector response form?

  No. If there is more than one non-resident owner registered on a property, only one of those individuals may sign the Elector Response Form and only with the written consent of the majority of the owners.  A Non-Resident Property Elector Consent form can be obtained under the supporting documents section of the AAP Eligible Elector page or by contacting the Legislative Services Department at legislative.servicesoffice@nanaimo.ca.

• Can I withdraw my elector response form after I’ve submitted it?

  Yes. Please contact the Corporate Officer, or designate, prior to the AAP deadline at 250-755-4405 for further information.

   

• Who can access and/or review the elector response forms during or after the AAP?

  Only the Corporate Officer, or their designate, can review and certify elector response forms during an AAP. The Corporate Officer is responsible for the safe keeping of the elector response forms throughout, and after, the AAP. Local governments must retain elector response forms as per requirements established in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA, Part 3) after the AAP has been completed.

   

• How will the results of the AAP be communicated to the public?

  Once the results have been certified by the Corporate Officer they will be posted to the City's website and a report will be provided to Council at a future meeting.

• How do I become aware of an AAP process?

  Local governments are required to publish an official notice of an AAP in the same manner as assent (referendum) voting through one of two options as set out in Section 94 of the Community Charter:

  1. Option 1: is the default publication set out in Section 94.1 where a notice must be posted in the public notice posting place as set out in Council's Procedure Bylaw and published in 2 or more publications in a newspaper that is distributed at least weekly.
  2. Option 2: If a Council has adopted an alternative means of publication bylaw, Section 94.2 must be followed and public notice must be provided by all the methods specified in that bylaw. Council's Public Notice Bylaw 2022 No. 7325, which was adopted on May 30, 2022, specifies that the City must publish its official notices in the newspaper and post it on the City of Nanaimo website in the Public Notices section. There is no requirement through this bylaw to post the notice in two issues of the newspaper as the date of the 'second publication of the notice' is considered to occur on the date when the notice has been published by two of the means of publication specifies in the bylaw. A copy must also be posted in the public notice posting place at City Hall, as set out in Council's Procedure Bylaw.

  A high-level Communication and Engagement Strategy based on the scale and, when applicable, borrowing amount of the project is also presented to Council for endorsement prior to the AAP commencing as set out in Council's Alternative Approval Process Policy.