Society still against housing development
SUMMERLAND — Following a review of the Golder report on the developer’s aquifer protection plan, the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC is maintaining its stance against the proposed Banks Crescent development.
FFSBC, a private non-profit organization, operates the Summerland Trout Hatchery, the sole source of water for which is Shaughnessy Springs, an outlet from an unmapped artesian aquifer under the proposed development.
The society’s continued lack of support may prove to be key to council’s decision on the fate of the controversial project.
“Given the potentially high consequences associated with turbid water entering the Summerland Hatchery, and given that Golder’s peer review includes several recommendations for changes and additions to the aquifer protection strategy document, the society must remain opposed to the proposed iCasa Development and to related amendments to the Official Community Plan,” hatchery manager Kyle Girgan wrote in a Jan. 19 letter to mayor and council.
“This society position is necessary, based on our mandate and responsibility as operators and managers of the Summerland Hatchery and the recreational fisheries it supports.”
The letter is contained in the agenda package for tonight’s council meeting.
The developers behind the project, the Lark Group, use the term iCasa for the project commonly referred to by the name of the street on which it would be located.
If approved, the project would involve the construction of five six-storey buildings over three levels of underground parking on formerly agricultural zoned land in a bowl-shaped site at 13610 Banks Cres.
In late October, Summerland council directed staff to have the third-party professional review conducted of the proposed Lark aquifer protection strategy.
The report from Golder Associates, which was submitted earlier this month, was then sent to Lark and the FFSBC for comment.
Mayor Peter Waterman confirmed in an interview Saturday that council at its meeting tonight will discuss Girgan’s letter “as well as the other information received.”
That other information includes Lark’s response to the Golder report and some public input.
An updated comprehensive development zone report and proposed procedural rules for the Feb. 5 public hearing will also come before council.
The society’s primary concern is the lack of specific responses that would be implemented upon determining that aquifer or spring water has been impacted, Girgan explained in his letter.
A cornerstone for the FFSBC’s support of the project has been the identification of a contingency water supply, which is capable of providing water of suitable quality and quantity to maintain uninterrupted operations at the hatchery. The facility produces up to one million trout annually, supplies approximately 300 lakes in the province and contributes an estimated $100 million each year to the B.C. economy.
Another major concern is the terms of reference set out for the Golder report commissioned by the municipality did not include “consideration of correspondence submitted by the society to the district.”
“Therefore, in considering the society’s stated concerns, Golder has relied exclusively on documents prepared by Lark and/or their consultants,” Girgan wrote.
He also noted the Lark plan “commits to conducting all work in accordance with the Water Act. However, this legislation was repealed in February 2016.”
In recognition of the importance of the hatchery, council passed a resolution on Jan. 23, 2017, requiring issues regarding the hatchery be resolved before addressing the many other outstanding questions.
Regardless, extensive work was started shortly thereafter on issues such as roads, sewers and hydro, but Waterman and councillors have said repeatedly that hatchery operations must not be endangered.