Brentwood Bay Management Plan

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What is the Brentwood Bay Management Plan?

The District of Central Saanich has made application for a Licence of Occupation for Brentwood Bay from the Province of B.C. in coordination with Tsartlip First Nation and supported by other First Nations. If granted this licence, the District will be overseeing the number and location of mooring buoys in the Bay. An area will also be designated where sewage cannot be dumped.

The shaded green represents the Licence of Occupation area; the yellow areas are proposed navigational channels.

The plan was created with consideration of community feedback to enhance environmental and community well-being to the area. The proposed solutions are based on the successes of other jurisdictions, such as Bowen Island and Port Moody.


We are implementing the plan in three phases:

1st Wave: Mooring Registration

If you own a mooring buoy and wish to continue to keep it in the licence of occupation area, we want to communicate with you and are asking you to register with the District. To register:

  • Register your mooring buoy and vessel by filling out the registration form and submitting to the District by email or in person


2nd Wave: Mooring Application

If you own or lease a mooring buoy in Brentwood Bay and have not made application, you are encouraged to do so. Council has established a list of priorities for the mooring buoys, including liveaboards and length of tenure in the Bay.

For those whom have registered with the District, we will be contacting you when the Licence of Occupation is granted to complete your application.


3rd Wave: Mooring Leases

The final stage is to:

  • Enter into an annual lease agreement with the District
  • Pay an annual fee to cover the cost of regulating mooring (the program will be cost neutral)
  • Ensure your mooring buoy and vessel are safe, seaworthy and in compliance with Federal and Provincial regulations
  • Ensure the use of your vessel complies with applicable bylaws, including the restrictions related to floating storage units and docks

What is the Brentwood Bay Management Plan?

The District of Central Saanich has made application for a Licence of Occupation for Brentwood Bay from the Province of B.C. in coordination with Tsartlip First Nation and supported by other First Nations. If granted this licence, the District will be overseeing the number and location of mooring buoys in the Bay. An area will also be designated where sewage cannot be dumped.

The shaded green represents the Licence of Occupation area; the yellow areas are proposed navigational channels.

The plan was created with consideration of community feedback to enhance environmental and community well-being to the area. The proposed solutions are based on the successes of other jurisdictions, such as Bowen Island and Port Moody.


We are implementing the plan in three phases:

1st Wave: Mooring Registration

If you own a mooring buoy and wish to continue to keep it in the licence of occupation area, we want to communicate with you and are asking you to register with the District. To register:

  • Register your mooring buoy and vessel by filling out the registration form and submitting to the District by email or in person


2nd Wave: Mooring Application

If you own or lease a mooring buoy in Brentwood Bay and have not made application, you are encouraged to do so. Council has established a list of priorities for the mooring buoys, including liveaboards and length of tenure in the Bay.

For those whom have registered with the District, we will be contacting you when the Licence of Occupation is granted to complete your application.


3rd Wave: Mooring Leases

The final stage is to:

  • Enter into an annual lease agreement with the District
  • Pay an annual fee to cover the cost of regulating mooring (the program will be cost neutral)
  • Ensure your mooring buoy and vessel are safe, seaworthy and in compliance with Federal and Provincial regulations
  • Ensure the use of your vessel complies with applicable bylaws, including the restrictions related to floating storage units and docks

  • Exploring regional coordination

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    08 May 2020


    Council has directed staff to meet with Tsartlip First Nation to discuss a proposal to collaborate with other Saanich Peninsula municipalities and to join the Capital Regional District Harbour Program for management of open water moorage areas.

    Council also directed staff to contact the District of North Saanich and Town of Sidney to review OCP’s collaboratively to address mutual concerns about the harbours in the Saanich Peninsula.

    As background to this decision, Council has previously made application to acquire a Licence of Occupation (LOO) and this new proposal to work with other municipalities and to join the Capital Regional District Harbour Program will be undertaken concurrently with the LOO process. The District of Central Saanich remains committed to working together with Tsartlip First Nation and other levels of government to address community concerns about Brentwood Bay in a coordinated and collaborative approach.

  • Summer 2019 update

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    23 Jul 2019

    Central Saanich has received an offer of a Licence of Occupation from the Province. The District is working to ensure the language in the licence supports the District’s intent, which is to be able to manage the number and placement of mooring bouys and be proactive with issues in the bay and not to assume other governments’ responsibilities. Our goal is to supplement the responsibilities of the federal and provincial government, not assume them.

    If you own or lease a mooring buoy in Brentwood Bay and have not made application, you are encouraged to do so. Council has established a list of priorities for the mooring buoys, including liveaboards and length of tenure in the Bay.

    For more information on the District's management plan for the Bay, please see FAQs.

  • Do you own or lease a mooring bouy in Brentwood Bay?

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    05 Dec 2018

    As we await a decision from the province on the District's application for a Licence of Occupation, we are reminding anyone who owns or leases a mooring bouy to register with the District of Central Saanich.

    Registration forms are available on this site. It is currently voluntary; however, over 40 owners of mooring buoys have made application.

    Council has established a list of priorities for the mooring buoys, including liveaboards and length of tenure in the Bay.