Editor:
The Jan. 6 report on Big Maple Trailer Park’s proposed expansion mentions two of the cons raised by Sechelt’s development planner: development on an environmentally sensitive watercourse (DP 2) requiring habitat protection and sewage concerns (as identified in the Official Community Plan and regulated by Vancouver Coastal Health).
These are important because a network of underground streams in the area makes the Chapman Creek Fan (the triangle of land generally bounded by the fish hatchery, the creek and lower Field Road) a riparian area worthy of protection.
There are, however, other site-specific problems with this proposal including its location outside the neighbourhood centres and urban containment boundaries in Davis Bay and the Field Road area as identified by Sechelt’s Official Community Plan. These OCP designations are to prevent urban sprawl and to retain low-density zoning on properties at high risk of flooding like the Chapman Creek flood plain and fan. The OCP and Ministry of Environment identifies multiple-family and manufactured homes as being inappropriate for such flood-prone areas.
What has not been specifically addressed by the District of Sechelt planning department is the subject of rising sea levels. Although an inexact science, estimates for this area are in the 0.8-metre range, which would put a fair portion of the Chapman Creek fan and flood plain either under water or at a substantially higher risk of flood.
Affordable housing is wanted and needed, and as the parent of a child on disability assistance, I understand firsthand the difficulty of finding suitable accommodation on a limited income. I do, however, think that we should plan and locate new housing developments where they have minimal environmental impact and long-term physical security.
Rebecca Pavitt, Sechelt
