On Nov. 24 a small crowd came out for the third public hearing on the fate of Lot L, a 3.5-hectare property in East Porpoise Bay between Allen and Dusty roads.
The lot was purchased by the District of Sechelt and given a “civic institutional and utilities” use in the Official Community Plan (OCP) in 2011 so that a sewage treatment plant could be built on site. However, the council that followed in 2012 decided to build a sewage treatment plant in downtown Sechelt instead, leaving Lot L vacant.
Lot L was then the subject of a public hearing in August 2014 to rezone the area from rural to industrial and subdivide it. The process was repeated in November 2014 after concerns were raised that council didn’t consider the rezoning in conjunction with the District’s solid waste management plan the first time.
Council of the day planned to subdivide the property into four parts and sell one portion to Sechelt Organic Marijuana Corporation and another to Michael Anderchek of Deluxe Landscaping. The other two parcels council intended to keep in order to build a new public works and parks department on site.
After taking office at the end of 2014, the current council allowed the offers of purchase to expire before a Dec. 31 deadline to officially rezone the land for subdivision.
Lot L is now being used by the District as a temporary location for a parks and public works yard and there are plans to make the location permanent in the future, although a cost estimate for a new building on site has not yet been determined.
On Nov. 24, council again brought Lot L to a public hearing with the intent to change its OCP designation from civic institutional and utilities to business/industry and to rezone the lot from RR-2 to I-7.
Council now wants to subdivide the property into three lots, two of which could be sold and one that could house a new parks and public works building.
The I-7 designation does open the door for medical marijuana operations to set up shop on the portion that would be owned by the District of Sechelt, but Sechelt Mayor Bruce Milne said the municipality will keep hold of the property so it won’t be used for that purpose.
“The District has no intentions of selling that portion because there are reasons in the public interest to preserve that as publicly controlled land both for its size and potential future use,” Milne said.
A few concerns were brought forward by constituents during the public hearing, including the worry that more industrial uses on site could negatively impact the residential homes nearby and concern that rezoning, once again, needs to be considered in conjunction with the solid waste management plan.
“The treatment of biosolids is an integral part of any sewage treatment process. In the District of Sechelt, the location and the long-term costs associated with the composting of biosolids continues to be unknown and controversial,” said Tuwanek resident Lynne Forrest, noting “a sustainable solution may very well be tied to the availability of Lot L.”
Milne thanked the public for their comments and reminded all in attendance that council cannot hear any new information on the issue before they make their decision, likely next month.
