No trespassing and private property signs have sprung up on Chapman Creek Trail, just steps from the end of about $21,000 worth of trail improvements done by the District of Sechelt last spring.
After heavy rains caused part of the popular trail to slide into the creek last March, the district invested the funds to reroute it.
The majority of Chapman Creek Trail is on District of Sechelt or Crown land – however, about 300 metres of it, just past the new steps the district built, is on private property.
It hasn’t been an issue in the past, but some properties on the privately-owned section, Blocks 27, 28, and 29 on District Lot 1028, were recently sold to new owners, and soon after, the signs appeared.
Along with the signs, different colours of flagging tape have been tied to trees in the area, suggesting some kind of development is on the horizon.
The District of Sechelt noted the owners are within their rights to refuse people access to their properties, even though they take up part of a popular hiking trail.
“It is our hope that users of this trail will respect the property owners while the district finds a suitable solution,” said acting mayor Alice Lutes this week.
She noted staff was meeting to discuss a way to move that section of the trail onto district or Crown land as soon as possible.
Lutes said she wasn’t sure why the issue wasn’t dealt with before, when the trail improvements were originally done last spring.
On Wednesday, staff came up with a solution to re-route the creekside trail on to Gun Club Road after the staircase in order to skirt around the top of the private property and then connect back to the regular trail system. A map can be found at www.sechelt.ca
