Tougher proposed bylaws governing future use of huge stretches of forested land on the southwest corner of Vancouver Island aim to prevent sprawl in the wilderness area.

The rejigged bylaws, released Thursday, will go to the Juan de Fuca electoral area land-use committee Tuesday in Sooke. If approved, they will go to public hearing.

So far, the land-use bylaw and official community plan are getting cautious approval from factions that have battled over the future of the 132,000 hectares of rural and resource lands.

"I think, given the circumstances, everyone has to hold their nose a little bit or argue about it for the next five to 10 years," said Juan de Fuca electoral area director Mike Hicks.

"I think this is acceptable to everyone. I don't think anyone is going to jump up and down about it."

Currently, the forested land, stretching from the Island's west coast to the Malahat, is zoned for minimum 120-hectare lots, but has no land-use regulations. The resource land does not include settlement areas such as Port Renfrew, Shirley, Jordan River, Otter Point and East Sooke.

The rules changed when the province allowed forestry companies to remove private land from tree farm licences and land was put up for sale in areas where growth had not been anticipated.

The first version of the bylaws drew an outcry from people who believed provisions allowing landowners to apply for subdivision in certain areas would lead to sprawl.

The latest version keeps the 120-hectare minimum lot size, with one dwelling and one ancillary cabin to a maximum of 90 square metres, and underlines that any subdivision would not be in accordance with the regional growth strategy.

That means the whole Capital Regional District board would vote on any subdivision, instead of a committee composed of the Juan de Fuca electoral area director and directors of neighbouring municipalities.

"From the point of view that limited development might have been considered, people thought [the previously proposed bylaws] were inviting proposals. This is more weighted to preserving the rural/resource areas," said Bob Lapham, CRD general manager of planning.

Some parcels near Port Renfrew, where applications have already been submitted, will be considered for subdivision.

The plans also recognize that there might be applications for tourism or resource-based businesses such as gravel extraction, which would be subject to demonstrated environmental protection and clear benefits to the community, Lapham said.

"They should not impact on the wilderness nature of the area."

Gordon O'Connor, forests campaigner for the Dogwood Initiative, an environmental group that adamantly opposed the previous proposed bylaws, said he is "cautiously optimistic" about the new version.

"It's a good step towards protecting the area ... I can't imagine the development community would like these bylaws," he said.

However, O'Connor believes there will still be pressure from developers.

"The regional growth strategy is very difficult to enforce."

jlavoie@tc.canwest.com