I was looking for my column on the Coast Reporter website and discovered that it is listed as “Opinion” so I wanted to give you a heads up that things may change a bit around here. In truth, My Opinion™ has no more weight than Your Opinion (trademark pending). The management hereby informs you that My Opinion™ is subject to change when confronted with new information that refutes previously held beliefs. Should our opinions differ, that’s OK, we are in this together and have our own perspective. Can we talk? I hope so.
Opinions differ on Endless Biking’s application for a Licence of Occupation (LO) for specified trails on the Sunshine Coast, but it may be, in My Opinion™, a tempest in a teapot. A LO allows Endless Biking to comply with the provincial requirement that any profit-making venture, on Crown land, must have tenure on that land. They are seeking a licence to operate on some, but not all, trails on the Coast. If successful, they will be able to commercially guide mountain biking operations on the trails. It does not grant them exclusive use of the area and public access will not be limited by this application. They will not have a permit to use trails in BC Parks, such as Elphinstone, and will not be entering them. In the provincial application, Endless Biking asks for a cap of 100 users per year for the Coast. It relates to the number of clients per day, in a year. For example, six clients over three days would be 18 of the 100 allowed for the year.
Telus is proposing a 45-metre cellular tower on the SCRD-owned Roberts Creek Volunteer Fire Department property. A recent announcement was placed in Coast Reporter, but as neighbours of the RCVFD, if you have questions or concerns about this installation, you can email the SCRD by June 1 at yuli.siao@scrd.ca. This tower will be twice the height of the existing fire department radio tower and will include communication equipment to improve radio reception for your firefighters in the field. That is not My Opinion™, but a fact. And, no, it’s not 5G.
Rob Marion is one of those who make Roberts Creek the best place in the world to live (a fact AND My Opinion™). The community cannot thank you enough for the years of talent and effort creating a community art experience that is enjoyed and marvelled at by locals and visitors from far and wide. The mandala is still there to savour, and next year the event will be treasured all the more.
Email kellybacks@rocketmail.com
