The District of Sechelt placed some undue stress on the organizers of a cross-country canoe journey planned in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary that’s set to start in Sechelt Inlet June 14.
On May 15, organizers got word from the district that their fleet of a dozen canoes with over 100 paddlers weren’t allowed to camp overnight on the SSC Properties site on June 14, despite nearly a year of planning to do so.
The district said the overnight usage of the property wasn’t allowed under current bylaws and that a temporary use permit had not been obtained in time to make an exception to the rule.
Werner Hofstatter of SSC Properties said his team had been working to get a temporary use permit for the overnight stay for several months, having submitted the original paperwork in September and then environmental studies asked for by the district in November and December.
“Then the district finally sent out the temporary use permit to referral agencies in January. It was discussed at the advisory planning committee in April and passed unanimously,” Hofstatter said, noting the temporary use permit was supposed to come to council in May for approval but “apparently now the staff report’s going to have more conditions for us to meet before they can issue it.”
The problem was brought to the Gibsons Paddle Club’s attention on May 15 by district staff who warned the club that camping overnight without a temporary use permit was not allowed and could result in fines.
The paddle club’s Fred Stark told Coast Reporter he thought the move was heavy-handed and in poor taste considering the canoe journey had been planned for over a year, the district was well aware of it, and there were no alternate places to camp overnight in the inlet.
“So we have no choice, we’re camping there and if somebody feels the extreme bureaucratic interpretation of the bylaws is required, well, we’ll pay the fine if we have to,” Stark said, noting he felt it would “just take a little good will and common sense” to resolve the issue.
On May 24 Sechelt’s interim director of planning and development services, Doug Stewart, backtracked on the municipality’s previous threat of fines.
“Although the district felt it had an obligation to point out that overnight camping on the SSC site is in contravention of the permitted use of the property, I want to let you know that we do not intend to enforce the bylaw during the Canada 150 Canoe Journey,” Stewart wrote to Stark in an email.
“This, of course, assumes we will not receive any complaints as a result of the event that would require district staff to come to the property. The district supports the event and welcomes all visitors to the area.”
Stark said he was relieved to get the news, just weeks before the canoe journey is set to start, and promised any issues related to safety, insurance and sanitation would be addressed appropriately by the paddle club.
