Residents attending a May 26 public hearing raised strong objections to a plan by Vanta Pacific to dramatically enlarge the dock in front of the proposed resort hotel development on West Porpoise Bay.
About half of the 20 people at the hearing voiced their concerns about the application, with the size of the proposed water lot and two-phase dock cited as a major issue.
Lookout Lane resident Hugh Monroe estimated the size of the proposed water lot lease, under “the old farming scale,” would span about one acre. With the applicant requesting the expansion to permanently moor up to two boats owned by Vanta Pacific, customers’ boats on a temporary basis, kayaks and paddleboards, Monroe suggested the foreshore lease could be reduced to one-half to one-third of the proposed size.
“The smaller it is, the less impact it will have on the neighbouring community, and I would request council to give that serious consideration in the approval process,” Monroe told Sechelt Mayor Bruce Milne, councillors and District staff in attendance.
Poise Island Estates Owners council president Don Lacey said his group opposes the application because the dock size exceeds the needs of a 20-room, six-cabin hotel resort. The western boundary of the water lot, he said, would have no setback from Poise Island Park, allowing the dock to dominate Park Bay and “making navigation by visitors and residents in small watercraft … more difficult and less appealing.”
Lacey also said the environmental impacts “should not be acceptable” to Sechelt residents.
“Many owners on Poise Island Drive will be negatively impacted by the construction of this mega-dock in our neighbourhood,” he said, noting he was “not anti-development at all.”
Several speakers objected to the fact they weren’t properly informed of the plan, asking why it was not presented as part of the hotel application in 2013.
“There’s a level of trust between the community and the developer that doesn’t exist yet because of their actions or lack of action in moving forward,” said David King, president of Sunshine Heights Owners and Residents Association.
Other speakers asked council to tighten up the wording of the zoning bylaw amendment, restricting the length of the two permanent boats to ensure they are not “party boats” and closing loopholes that could allow customers’ boats to be moored for longer than their stay.
The zoning bylaw amendment is expected to come back to council on June 17.
Meanwhile, a public hearing for the SSC Properties official community plan amendment has been rescheduled for Wednesday, June 10 in the District’s community meeting room.
