The Town of Gibsons is taking developer Barrie Bolton to court for logging his property near Charman Creek.
Bolton and his numbered company, 327593 B.C. Ltd., are facing eight charges of violating Gibsons' municipal bylaws. The maximum penalty is $2,000 for each charge.
The charges are in connection with logging near the Charman Creek ravine last spring.
Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk described the bylaw offences as "basically, cutting in an area he wasn't supposed to be cutting in."
"The law takes a very dim view of this," said Janyk. "We have to do due diligence. We can't just pretend it didn't occur."
Bill Beamish, administrator for the Town of Gibsons, will be prosecuting the case against Bolton. Beamish said before cutting trees in a geotechnical hazard area, Bolton needed a development permit, which would have required a geotechnical report showing the work could be done safely without causing erosion.
"He applied for a development permit after doing the work," said Beamish. "That application hasn't been considered because he did not submit the mapping we requested."
Bolton's first appearance in Sechelt provincial court was Sept. 28. He is scheduled to return to court Oct. 19.
Gibsons issued a "cease and desist" order to stop the logging last April, after citizens complained. Some people alleged the tree cutting had gone over the property line from Bolton's property onto town-owned land. However, Beamish said the town did its own survey and determined all the tree cutting was on Bolton's property.
