DEAR EDITOR:
I am a member of the public at large on Bowen Island, meaning I have no immediate interest in or own property in close proximity to Ecclestone Beach. But what I do have is an interest in the Bowen Island municipal government holding a strong line in following the laws as they apply to homeowners who push to exceed their property rights at the expense of community access to public spaces.
I have a personal history in which the Bowen Island municipal government accommodated a landowner with a conciliatory resolution to a situation similar to the Ecclestone dock application. About 10 years ago a homeowner purchased the historic cabin and corresponding property on Scarborough Beach. They upgraded the cabin into a summer home and then attempted to close access to our entire neighbourhood’s use of the beach by preventing “trespassing” on their driveway. It was a bit absurd because the homeowners’ new driveway partly obstructed the trail down to the neighbourhood public access beach. They put up a million no trespassing signs saying that no one could walk on their driveway but without walking on a part of their driveway, neighbours could not use the trail that would take them down to the beach. The municipality resolved the conflict to access of Scarborough Beach by building an expensive but effective staircase down to the beach that ran parallel to the private landowners’ driveway. It was a truce that worked but at the expense of our taxpayer dollars to conciliate a homeowner that tried to take a public beach and make it private.
I’m sharing this story to remind the municipality that this type of incursion into public spaces happens regularly but it is not our municipal government’s responsibility to accommodate self-interested requests, especially when the report by West Coast Environmental Law dated April 19 gives the Mayor and council every reason and grounds upon which to deny the variance permit for the dock.
And what is even more notable is the spirit of generosity, collaboration and contribution that is being offered to the municipality by the Friends of Ecclestone Beach. This organization of local citizens is gifting to the Bowen Island Municipality much of the work and investment into building a legal, safe public staircase to the beach to ensure all can access the beach including the homeowners of 1160 Ecclestone Road.
There is no reason to bend over backward to accommodate a dock on Ecclestone Beach that contravenes our Official Community Plan. I am encouraging Bowen’s Mayor and council to take the gift the Friends of Ecclestone Beach are offering and build the staircase. It worked to help in Scarborough a decade ago and this time the price will be shared, which shows the commitment of this group of citizens to a strong Bowen future.
Gail Lotenberg
