A pair of Sandy Hook residents says the owners of a Private Managed Forest lot in their neighbourhood are in violation of at least three parts of the Private Managed Forest Act.
Managed Forest 503 includes part of the area bounded by Seaview, Skookumchuck, and Mt. Richardson roads and is owned by 0990199 B.C. Ltd., a numbered company created by Lower Mainland resident Kin Kwok Chung.
The alleged violations are spelled out in a formal complaint filed with the Managed Forest Council (MFC) on Feb. 14.
The first claim in the complaint is that the logging is in contravention of the Act’s objectives for soil conservation, because the property owner “failed to provide to MFC a geotechnical assessment demonstrating long-term slope stability post wide scale clear-cut logging to ensure resident safety.”
The complaint points to the District of Sechelt’s requirement for development permits in Sandy Hook, “due to environmental sensitivity and noted geotechnical hazards due to multiple steep slope areas which aggravates existing water drainage issues.”
The second alleged violation involves critical wildlife habitat. The association claims there are several “at risk” wildlife species in MFC 503, including blue heron, flammulated owl, and northern spotted owl. It also said the property is a nesting area for bald eagles, peregrine falcon and other birds as well as a hibernation spot for black bears.
“The owner has failed to provide to MFC wildlife assessments demonstrating the absence of aforementioned at risk wildlife species, or nesting bird species,” the complaint says.
The final alleged violation of the Private Managed Forest Act is that the property owner has not properly reforested areas logged in the past. “To date, there has been no observed reforestation at the owner’s previously logged site (completed spring of 2017).”
The complaint also claims they’ve tried several times to contact Chung, “who refused to meet or talk with us.”
The District of Sechelt is currently in litigation with the property owner over bylaw violations related to cutting 160 trees in 2016.
The Managed Forest Council’s complaint process allows for criminal prosecution in some cases, but calls for working with managed forest owners first. The Council has already said that, as a newly established managed forest, Managed Forest 503 is already slated for inspection this year.
*This story has been corrected to clarify that the Sandy Hook Community Association was not the originator of the complaint to the MFC.
