Target Marine Hatcheries will not be allowed to process sturgeon for caviar on their property near Tillicum Bay after a tie vote by Sechelt council effectively denied their zoning amendment application April 20.
The council meeting seemed to be going in Target's favour when an official community plan (OCP) amendment passed second and third readings. The OCP amendment was needed as the first piece of the puzzle, but it didn't pass without some debate.
Coun. Keith Thirkell amended the details of the OCP to read: that the processing could only be of sturgeon and sturgeon roe grown on site, implying the company could bring in fish from other areas if the amendment was not made.
"That was originally the discussion from the beginning, that it was for fish only grown on site, and I just want to see that locked into the bylaw," Thirkell said.
Other councillors agreed, and the OCP amendment passed with councillors Warren Allan and Alice Janisch opposed.
Janisch noted she was opposed to the amendment partly because the company is currently taking female sturgeon to a space rented in the Egmont fish processing plant for caviar extraction, "which means that they can do that," she said.
"And since I am opposed to polluting the inlet and to spot rezoning for industrial purposes in residential areas, I will never vote for this. I think that it's unprincipled and will give Sechelt a bad reputation," Janisch said.
Thirkell then suggested the fact Target is currently taking female sturgeon to Egmont for processing is new information and that the public hearing could be challenged at a later date. Coun. Ann Kershaw disagreed.
"I'm kind of baffled about this new information game that's being played. I know that the last time around in the last council there was a legal challenge because new information was received. And if that's what people are trying to do, then this little gamut doesn't work because this isn't new information," said Kershaw, adding the information was given at the public hearing.
Thirkell seemed to be on the fence saying he would reluctantly support second and third reading, but would have to "take that information and consider it very carefully," and perhaps not support the OCP amendment when it came back for fourth reading.
Thirkell, Alice Lutes, Kershaw and Mayor Darren Inkster voted in favour of the OCP amendment, passing it with a four to two vote.
Coun. Fred Taylor was absent. Inkster noted Taylor's doctor has advised him to take the month of April off for health reasons.
With the OCP amendment passed, council then turned their attention to the zoning amendment bylaw to rezone a portion of Target's land to M3-A, allowing them to process sturgeon for caviar on site.
When Thirkell suggested amendments to decrease the building footprint of the facility the sturgeon would be processed in, Kershaw, Inkster, Allan and Lutes voted against it, which seemed to solidify Thirkell's opposition to the application moving forward.
When the vote was called, Thirkell, Janisch and Allan were opposed to giving second and third reading to the zoning amendment bylaw, while Inkster, Kershaw and Lutes were in favour. The tie vote legally defeated the motion, leaving Target with a partially approved OCP amendment and a denied zoning amendment, effectively crushing any hope of processing sturgeon for caviar at the site.
When Coast Reporter spoke with Target's general manager Justin Henry about the decision on Thursday morning, he implied a legal challenge might come in the future.
"I think councillors Thirkell, Allan and Janisch have shown their bias throughout the entire process starting when they set a precedent to not receive the report from their own staff. Now they've disregarded the recommendations from their staff and have performed a disservice to the people of Sechelt. Now we have to evaluate our options," Henry said.
Henry thanked the community for their support and said his company wants to stay in Sechelt, but he is unsure of the future at this point.
