The most recent public hearing for Target Marine Hatcheries brought out around 60 people with little new to say about the company's plan to harvest sturgeon for caviar on site.
The application has been to public hearing twice before. The first time was in 2008 when the council of the day passed the proposal, but a legal challenge from residents living near the hatchery halted any movement on the plan. Then in March of 2011, a second council took the issue to public hearing, only to decide to send it to a non-binding referendum to gauge the community's wishes.
That referendum, held during the recent November municipal election, showed 75 per cent of Sechelt voters in favour of the plan, with 2,687 in favour and 663 opposed.
Following the referendum, a new Sechelt council took office. The plan went to public hearing again on Jan. 9, as the referendum results constituted new information and therefore necessitated another hearing.
On Monday the same arguments that have come up in the past resurfaced as concerns over noise, odour, negative impacts on property values and the environment were among the top issues raised.
Target Marine Hatcheries manager Justin Henry said the sturgeon harvesting will not create any more noise or odour on site, and all of the waste will be taken off site. He sees no environmental issue.
As for the concern of property values being negatively affected, Sechelt resident Corina Wheten provided an example of why it shouldn't be a problem.
"I live right next to the sewage treatment plant. I know all about odours and all about noise. The quarry is right in my front yard; I can see it. The air quality from the dust is very thick some days. So I understand about air quality, I understand about foul odours, I understand about noise," she said. "The property value of my house has never gone down. It's continuously risen. It has gone up again this year."
But some nearby neighbours of Target Marine opposed to the plan said they would be forced to challenge their property assessments if the rezoning to allow sturgeon processing on site is approved.
"I, for one, will appeal my current B.C. assessment on the grounds that there is no certainty that expansion of industrial uses will not be forthcoming in the future to the detriment of the residential zoning," said Lynne Forrest of Tillicum Bay.
Others echoed that statement and reinforced their desire to see the operation move to an area already zoned for industrial use.
Those who spoke in favour of the plan reminded councillors of the overwhelming community support shown in the recent referendum and said they were expecting politicians who said they would support the plan to do so now.
Sandy Hook resident Gray Waddell said the advertising Target did leading up to the referendum greatly swayed that vote and he urged councillors to look at both sides of the issue.
"We beg council members to please consider the other side - a side that has been out-shouted, out-financed, disregarded and ultimately out-maneuvered. The only crime the people of Tuwanek and Tillicum Bay have committed is to build their homes in what was planned as a pleasant residential neighbourhood," Waddell said.
Councillors will now take the information from the public hearing back to a council meeting for further discussion and next steps, which could include giving second and third reading to the plan.
