One letter asking the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) to take “immediate action” to stop the commercial use of a boat ramp in Halfmoon Bay has unleashed a tidal wave of responses from business owners and island residents alarmed at the implications.
Residents of North and South Thormanby Island rely on the boat launch at Coopers Green Park in Halfmoon Bay to access goods and services such as building materials, propane and septic maintenance.
Barge operators rely on it to transport materials to Merry Island, Nelson Island, Texada Island, Jedediah Island, Lasqueti Island, Sechelt and Halfmoon Bay, on top of the Thormanby islands.
“It’s a vital link and it’s been used for decades. And we’d like to continue to use it,” said Shirley Higginson, resident of North Thormanby Island and administrator for the Vaucroft Improvement District.
She is one of dozens of residents and business operators fearful their access to the ramp – and the essential services it affords them – would be jeopardized if commercial operators were prohibited.
But SCRD chair and Halfmoon Bay director Lori Pratt says there are no plans to close the ramp to commercial operators.
‘No decision’
“The big picture here is there’s been no decision to close down the ramp. There was some miscommunication that just publishing the letter meant the board was considering shutting down the ramp, and that is not the case. So a lot of what I’ve been doing is easing fears,” Pratt told Coast Reporter in advance of a July 20 public engagement session about the use of the ramp.
“We’re collecting information from all sides to move forward and figure out what we need to do to support islanders as well as mitigate risk and mitigate fear,” she said.
In the letter that was included in the June 11 planning committee agenda package, Halfmoon Bay resident Tom Bailey urged the SCRD to “take immediate action to stop the industrial/commercial use of the Coopers Green boat launch and surrounding waters.” Bailey’s letter claimed that the only specified uses of the ramp are for public swimming and recreational boating and that industrial equipment exceeds the ramp’s weight limits. He also said industrial vehicles pose a safety risk.
At the June 11 meeting, Pratt acknowledged use of the ramp has been a point of contention for years, but it reached a boiling point after Bailey’s letter made it into the package. She had received more than 60 responses, mostly from islanders, and made a motion to host a public engagement session on the issue.
While none of those 60 letters have made it onto the public record or on an agenda, Pratt said the letters are “definitely being given lots of weight and will be part of the discussion.”
“Process-wise it feels best to synthesize all that information into one package,” she said.
Need to consult
She also told Coast Reporter it was “premature” to propose any solutions, since the SCRD still needs to consult with both the public and the province.
According to SCRD staff, commercial barge services are prohibited from regularly scheduling uses of the ramp as part of a commercial venture – but staff confirmed that isn’t how operators are using it.
Staff also confirmed with the province that “use of the ramp for transporting goods is acceptable under the terms of the licence.”
However, in an information package the SCRD also says “the underlying design of the ramp is not meant for heavier vehicles.”
“There may be ways that the management plan or the licence for the use of the land could be adjusted to better suit community needs, so staff will be listening to the area director’s community conversation next week to better understand the situation,” planning general manager Ian Hall told Coast Reporter.
Four other boat launches on the Sunshine Coast have the capacity to load barges, according to the SCRD, but those are located at either end of the Coast.
Barge operators say the proximity of the Coopers Green ramp to Georgia Strait islands is not just a matter of convenience – hauling items from further afield such as Madeira Park or Port Mellon poses its own safety risks. It also risks making services cost prohibitive for the residents that depend on them. “If I wasn’t able to load there then it would double the cost of my clients and make it a lot harder for me to get them their supplies,” barge operator Alistair Crosbie told Coast Reporter.
Construction company owner Richard Shallard said his livelihood depends on access to the ramp, and so do residents.
“Coopers Green is the natural link,” he said. “It’s all they’ve got.”
The public meeting will be held virtually and is scheduled for July 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Phone access, Zoom link and background information are available at www.scrd.ca/Coopers-Green
