On Aug. 22, around 30 people associated with the Havies development in Sechelt gathered at the site for an official groundbreaking ceremony. The group included Homei Group’s president, executives and staff, local consultants and contractors. Around 10 community members also attended, some commenting their disapproval during the presentation.
“This is a big day in our development process for the site,” Jurek Janota-Bzowski of JB Coast Consulting Inc. — the engineer of record for the Havies project — said during the ceremony. “We're at that stage now where we can move from a lot of paper to actually starting to put shovels in the ground, which is very important and we're looking forward to transforming this area into a highly livable community.”
While members of local government, including Sechelt mayor Darnelda Siegers and hiwus (Chief) Warren Paull of shíshálh Nation, were invited to the event, they were not in attendance. Janota-Bzowski told Coast Reporter the event was put together on short notice. Sechelt council usually takes the month of August off as a break from meetings.
Before the ceremony began, vandalism in the form of spray paint marred signs and equipment on the site, and was found earlier that morning. Janota-Bzowski said the police have not been notified of the incident, but that some of the vandalism contained racist elements.
“It’s a form of protest, which just goes a bit too far. I disagree with it entirely. It’s wrong and I’m just saddened by it,” he said.
In an email statement, the District of Sechelt said it condemns any act of vandalism or racist remarks, which “have no place in Sechelt or anywhere in Canada for that matter.”
Concerns in the community
After the Havies project was granted a development permit by the District of Sechelt council on Aug. 3, a director of the Davis Bay-Wilson Creek-Selma Park Community Association, Katie Clogg, sent a letter to the District, outlining concerns with the project. Those concerns included the marketing of the Havies development and perceived impacts to the established neighbourhood, such as traffic and infrastructure.
What the District’s role is
The District of Sechelt confirmed it has received concerns about the project, particularly around traffic, water, sewage, short-term rentals (STR), the lack of affordable housing, and potential foreign ownership. In an email to Coast Reporter on Aug. 23, the District said, “As with all properties or homes, the District has policies and bylaws in place that address traffic, water, sewage and STRs. The District does not have any jurisdiction to say who a property owner can sell their property or home to.”
As for short-term rental concerns, the District is currently reviewing Bylaw 580 — which includes STR regulations that will “apply evenly across the District of Sechelt, including to the homes in the Havies development.”
The general process for a development such as the Havies, when it comes to the District of Sechelt’s authority, is the staff look at the associated zoning, development permit areas and the Official Community Plan (OCP) to determine if it fits the OCP’s goals and objectives. If a proposal fits all three, District staff will undertake a technical review.
The property proposed for the Havies development has been zoned as R-1 since 1987, “as with nearly all other properties in Selma Park and Davis Bay,” the District says. In 2016, a subdivision application for the property was submitted for 66 lots of 1,000 square metres. That application was revised in 2021 to propose the current version, a 99 lots ranging from 500 square metres to 900 square metres, which fall within the size of lots for R-1 zoning. A preliminary layout review was issued in Dec. 2021 and revised in May of this year.
The developer has also proposed to extend sewer service to the project at their own expense. The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) will confirm water requirements through the subdivision process, and the District of Sechelt will confirm sewage and other infrastructure requirements through the application review process, the District’s email states.
While the development permit was approved on Aug. 3, the District’s assigned approving officer will still need to make the decision whether or not to approve the subdivision. A development permit application cannot be denied by council if it meets the development permit area guidelines, but the District notes a subdivision application has a broader scope of evaluation.
“A servicing agreement and security is required for the subdivision works and services as well as a separate servicing agreement and security required for the sewer extension. Once the servicing agreement and security aspect have been completed then the applicant could work towards preparing an application for final subdivision approval (assuming all other conditions are met). Theoretically, the Approving Officer can still deny a subdivision application at any point in the process, assuming they have a reasonable rationale for making such a decision,” according to the District.
Engineer touts the project’s positives
The following day, Aug. 23, Janota-Bzowski spoke to Coast Reporter about the Havies project and the community’s reaction so far. Janota-Bzowski has lived on the Coast for 40 years and has been working on the Havies project for about a year, he says.
“For a community to develop and grow you actually have to have development and you have to bring people in and you have to bring money in,” he says, as he frames the positives of the project. He points to the employment opportunities the construction will create, as well as the increase in housing stock.
Janota-Bzowski said the development cost charge (DCC) the developer has to pay to the District of Sechelt are approximately $27,000 per lot. At 99 lots, the Havies DCCs are close to $2.7 million. That money can be used by the District to fund community infrastructure projects, as approved by the province. Other contributions the developer will make include administration costs to the District and a required community amenity space.
According to a Havies representative, the price of the homes ranges from $1 million to $1.7 million. The company did not disclose how many units have sold, nor how many have been purchased by people already living on the Sunshine Coast, but a representative told Coast Reporter they have had inquiries from locals.
When asked about the marketing of the development, he said there are two marketing centres: one in Richmond and the other in Sechelt. A promotional video that raised questions and concerns from Coast residents, included “hyperbole… some exaggeration and potentially inaccuracies,” Janota-Bzowski acknowledged. It was intended, he added, for the Lower Mainland and the launch of the Richmond centre, and was presented to real estate agents in that area. Marketing for Sechelt has been “muted” but will ramp up after construction begins, which could be as early as next week. Marketing is an “ongoing discussion with Homei” he said.
There is no speculation or vacancy tax applied to properties on the Sunshine Coast. In an interview with Coast Reporter earlier this month, Premier of B.C. candidate David Eby said such a tax is not currently being considered for the Sunshine Coast.
The federal government’s Bill C-19 is set to come into effect in January 2023, and would enforce a two-year ban on foreign purchase of property in Canada, if the buyer is not a permanent or temporary resident.
“It would be fair to say that if this development was intended solely for overseas markets, then it will fail,” he says.
While marketing has mentioned the investment opportunities of the project, Janota-Bzowski says the intention is to create a residential subdivision for people to live there. Some of the homes will have secondary suites, while larger lots could have carriage houses, they could be sublet. Janota-Bzowski was unable to speak to property management by the Homei Group.
“There’s always a percentage of people who don’t like any development,” Janota-Bzowski says.
Since the proposal fits in with the zoning and OCP, a public consultation is not required. “I always think it’s very important to consult with the public,” Janota-Bzowski said, adding that it is a point of frustration for him when people say there has been no consultation.
He says JB Consulting presented at the Davis Bay-Wilson Creek-Selma Park Community Association’s annual general meeting earlier this year and held a question and answer period, coming away with around 10 issues to address for the association. They also incorporated comments from two meetings with the Advisory Planning Commission, followed by the Aug. 3 council meeting. He points out that these meetings were open to members of the public, and says they’ve addressed the concerns raised.
“If anyone has an issue with the process, they should address that with the District rather than calling to question the developer or its consultants,” Janota-Bzowski said.
“This is not my first go around. I’ve done many designs [as an engineer] on the Sunshine Coast," he said. "Each one of these subdivisions had people sort of say, ‘No, we don't want subdivisions. We don't want development. We don't want this,’ and when it's all said and done, it's just another part of the fabric of the Sunshine Coast.”
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure still has to weigh in on whether the highway will need any traffic improvements at the connecting intersection, and the project will be required to follow the Ministry’s direction. Janota-Bzowski says he expects the Havies homes to be done and ready for occupation by the end of next year.
After the ceremony on Aug. 22 concluded, prospective home buyers were given a tour of the site.
