[LookOutSugarLake] Success! B.C. MOVES TO EASE DEVELOPMENT DEMANDS IN SHUSWAP AREA

[Huguette - Imagine-ere]

Hi all,

As you know SLAMSS is a member of the Shuswap Watershed Alliance, the  
group that has been pressuring for a halt on foreshore development.   
Below is the letter from the province agreeing to our demands to halt  
foreshore development on Mara and Shuswap lakes, and below that, the  
link to the CHBC news story and the Kamloops paper front page story  
on it.

Another success story showing there is strength in numbers and that  
it is worthwhile to speak out against what we know to be destructive.  
For more information see:

http://www.seas.ca/
http://www.saobserver.net/portals-code/list.cgi? 
paper=29&cat=23&id=1033808&more=0

Huguette.


> For Immediate Release
>
> 2007AL0042-001011
>
> Aug. 9, 2007
>
> Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
>
> Integrated Land Management Bureau
>
>
>
> B.C. MOVES TO EASE DEVELOPMENT DEMANDS IN SHUSWAP AREA
>
>
>
>
>
>
> KAMLOOPS – The Province is taking a sustainable approach to  
> development on Shuswap and Mara lakes by implementing a temporary  
> delay on foreshore development.
>
>
>
> Until further notice, the Province will not accept new or amendment  
> applications for commercial docks, commercial marinas or strata  
> moorage on Shuswap and Mara lakes. Applications for private moorage  
> tenures are still being accepted. A prohibition on new applications  
> to discharge treated effluent under the Municipal Sewage Regulation  
> is already in place.
>
>
>
> The Province, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Fraser  
> Basin Council, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District and the  
> Thompson-Nicola Regional District are working together to conduct a  
> Shuswap Basin Integrated Planning Process. The Province will not  
> accept new commercial applications on Shuswap and Mara lakes until  
> this planning process is completed in the summer of 2008.
>
>
>
> Applications that have already been submitted as of the date of  
> this bulletin will continue to be worked on, but no final decisions  
> will be made until the results of the Shuswap Lake Planning process  
> are available and can be incorporated into the decision.
>
>
>
>             Shuswap Lake is home to 30 species of fish, including  
> four of five pacific salmon native to B.C. The Shuswap is integral  
> to Adams River salmon runs, which provide valuable commercial and  
> sport fishing, as well as First Nations fisheries. The Adams River  
> sockeye run also provides significant tourism opportunities.
>
>
>
>             For more information, proponents should contact  
> FrontCounter BC toll-free at: 1 877 855-3222.
>
> Hi all
>
> Here is the link to the CHBC TV news story from yesterday:
> http://www.chbc.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=14556
>
> and here is the front page headline news from Kamloops:
>
> B.C. halts Shuswap building
>
> Builders informed of ‘temporary delay on foreshore development’
>
> By Cam Fortems, Kamloops Daily News
> August 10, 2007
>
> A Shuswap conservationist hailed a decision by the province to halt  
> marina development in Shuswap Lakes, but a developer said the move  
> will hurt residents and could bankrupt some investors.
>
> The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands released an information  
> bulletin informing developers and builders of a “temporary delay on  
> foreshore development” at Shuswap and Mara lakes.
>
> The measure means the province will not accept new applications for  
> commercial marinas or strata moorage.  Applications already in the  
> approval will be put on hold and must meet pending development  
> guidelines in the Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP).
>
> The Ministry of Environment is leading the SLIPP campaign, in co- 
> operation with municipalities and the federal Department of  
> Fisheries and Oceans.
>
> Activists and residents conducted a letter-writing campaign asking  
> the province to halt marina development until SLIPP issues new  
> rules, and brings in enforcement to back it up, in order to protect  
> water quality, wildlife and fish habitat.
>
> Some 1,200 boat slips are proposed or already under construction on  
> the lake systems.
>
> “They’ll (provincial authorities) have to incorporate the decisions  
> of SLIPP into their decision-making for applications,” said Shuswap  
> Lake conservationist Jim Cooperman. “It’s music to our ears.”
>
> Shuswap Watershed Alliance, representing 12 groups and 1,000  
> members, asked the province to put a freeze on marina development  
> while SLIPP is underway.
>
> A development consultant who is working on several preliminary  
> projects for Shuswap Lake predicted the measure will swamp existing  
> boat launch sites for property owners who don’t have lakefront.
>
> “It’s a disservice to the public,” said Dave Cunliff.  “There’s a  
> four-year waiting list for moorage on the lake.  It prevents non- 
> waterfront owners from having access to the lake.”
>
> Cunliffe said the moratorium sent the wrong signal to investors,  
> adding the freeze could bankrupt some.
>
> “Developments that are well in process, you can’t stop.  You can’t  
> interrupt the momentum.  Typically there are finance and other  
> considerations to prevent you.  You’ve got to carry on.  A lot will  
> be finished and sold without the marina component.”
>
> The measure does not affect applications for private moorage tenures.
>
> Cunliffe said buyers will have the option of backing out of pre- 
> sale agreements for lakefront condos, because lack of a marina slip  
> represents a material change in the deal.
>
> “We’re talking about bankrupting people,” Cunliffe said, adding the  
> measure does nothing to stop leaking septic fields, the lake’s  
> worst environmental problem.
>
> But Cooperman said the moratorium on foreshore development shows  
> the province is serious about listening to residents and protecting  
> the lake.
>
> “We know there’s development that is going to be put on hold for  
> awhile.  We’ll have a scientific look at the watershed and what’s  
> needed to maintain the essence of why we’re here.”
>
====================================
Jim Cooperman, President,
Shuswap Environmental Action Society
R.R. 1 S10 C2
Chase, B.C., V0E 1M0
250-679-3693, cell 319-4197
jcoop at ribaa.ca, www.seas.ca
=====================================

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