A presentation by Shuswap MLA David Williams sparked a fiery reaction at the July 17 Columbia Shuswap Regional District Board meeting.
The first issue Williams addressed was the length of time some developers in the regional district are waiting for permits in order to proceed with their plans.
“I have multiple developers, who want to develop projects and have been waiting a long time,” he said, referring to a possible downturn in the economy and need to retain people by making sure jobs are available. “If there’s obstacles to getting permitting and if it’s a provincial issue, we want to know about it.”
Williams pointed to a 2024 proposal for a 150-site campground at 3650 Eagle Bay Rd. and asked how many directors visited and walked the property.
“Why is that?” he asked when no-one responded.
“He doesn’t seem to understand how that works,” remarked Area C director Marty Gibbons, who agreed to hold further comments until the end of Williams’ presentation.
“What is the issue? I’ve seen the scaled down versions, I have walked the property and seen all the assessments,” Williams said. “I am concerned that it is being arbitrarily turned down.”
Next on Williams’ list was the ongoing issue of the composting operation at Spa Hills.
“You probably could use a little intervention by me, because I think the provincial government should be assisting a little bit,” he sad noting the Ministry of Environment had done an inspection but did not lend a lot of support. “It would be nice if he (owner Josh Mitchell) could get some grant funding which could be available from the provincial government… I believe it’s better to work with him.”
The last of Williams’ “major concerns” is Newsome Creek where residents have dealt with continuing erosion below their properties for several years.
“I plan to hit all these things hard starting in August because the only time they (the province) act is when they get shamed,” he said of returning to the legislature. “But but I don’t want to go ahead if you guys have plans to do something.”
A visibly angry Gibbons told Williams that he is well connected to his constituents and easy to access, unlike the MLA.
“I am what I refer to as boots on the ground; we are the most easiest and most accessible line of government and our constituents find us,” he said. “We are accountable to them financially every year when we do our budget, and we do not borrow money, we go get it.”
Gibbons pointed out that he attended a public meeting where both he and the developer heard residents’ concerns very clearly. The developer, he said, waited six months before taking their application back to the board for second reading with precisely the same plan that Area C constituents had opposed, and without changes other than empty promises.
“So it is insulting to sit here after we have talked to people, we have done process, we have done debate and our planning department has been there,” he said, temper flaring. “And to our MLA, I will be very clear – I do not work for developers, I work for constituents. I do not go and tour developers’ properties because that is not my job. I don’t work for planning, in fact, I would argue that you are in conflict now that you have personally gone to this site.”
At this point, Revelstoke Mayor Gary Solz called point of order, noting he understands Gibbons’ passion but asking him to calm down.
In a much calmer tone of voice, Gibbons said that the board has done their due diligence, has diligently served constituents, had hearings, used factual information and made decisions as a board, as they should. “And now, to be questioned like this is frustrating, and I apologize to speaker and board.”
Reiterating the need for a calmer approach, board chair Natalya Menychuk advised Williams that in terms of the board approach to development plans, directors generally do not interact directly with developers.
“We need to be mindful that we are not coming into conflict of interest,” she said. “We need to look at each application on its own merit and look to staff for their thorough review of applications as well.”
Salmon Arm director and CSRD deputy board chair Kevin Flynn said he agreed with Gibbons’ position but would try to remain calm.
He said that at the Salmon Arm council table, councillors had been clearly instructed that they should rarely, if ever, go on site visits with a proponent due to legalities, conflict of interest and bias.
“There’s significant reasons not to do it and I am a little frustrated that our presenter admonished us on three issues that, if his team had done some research, they would know what we have done on all the issues,” said Flynn. “To come here and speak holier than thou down to our board, that’s disrespectful.”
Flynn noted that significant work by staff and directors had been undertaken on the Newsome Creek issue, as well as five or six years on Spa Hills. He told Williams that to approach the board with one viewpoint without knowing the facts was somewhat of an embarrassment.
Next at bat was Area D director Dean Trumbley, whose residents are impacted daily by the Spa Hills operation in his electoral area. He noted that speaking strictly to one proponent is not the proper way of dealing with the issues and, nor does it provide a thorough understanding of the multi jurisdictional issues involved.
“It’s not about pushing the province to simply to provide funding to help the Spa Hills area; it’s also to look at the regulatory regime in place to right now around actually putting in proper regulations at the provincial level for these types of facilities,” he said.
He advised Williams that his job as director is not to look at it from the aspect of how can the Spa Hills operation work, but also to look at the hundreds of people in that Yankee Flats area who are negatively impacted by the compost facility because it’s not regulated well enough. He stated his concern that when many Area D residents hear that Spa Hills was discussed at the board meeting, they would tune into that portion of the recording.
“I want to make sure in this conversation, that as area director, I do understand the many negative impacts that have happened to the community in this area as the result of the Spa Hills operation,” he said, pointing out residents are unable to sell their homes, receive visitors or even leave their homes on some days. “So I am not interested right now in picking a side in that argument; what I am more interested in looking at is forcing the provincial government to look at Spa Hills type facilities, putting in appropriate regulations, including looking at things like smells or odours as being part of that regulatory regime, as opposed to looking at it just the health impact components of it.”
Melnychuk ended director input by saying she was happy to report that the Ministry of Transportation and Transit is moving forward with a project to replace the culvert and address the erosion of “the upper portion of the lower portion of Newsome Creek” and has subsequently been working with staff to get grants for the lower portion of the lower creek are.
While the project will not spread all the way up to private properties, Melnychuk said the Ministry of Transportation and Transit’s project will significantly reduce the risk as it goes forward.
“I have put in request for a minister meeting at UBCM to make sure it continues to be a collaborative effort as there are multiple pieces and multiple agencies involved,” she said, adding she was very aware of the long time properties and homes have been threatened. “I am hopeful we’ll see boots on the ground or excavators in the stream as permits move through the province.”
Given the opportunity to have the last word, Williams described himself as being totally neutral on all issues and apologized for not understanding CSRD’s planning process.
“My job is to advocate on behalf of the people who actually reside here, that includes developers who want to do work here, but also includes citizens who live here, and there is a balance,” he said, noting he appeared before the board to get facts, has made no commitments to anybody but wants assurance that the system is fair and transparent and best for the community at large.
Again referring to the provincial government, Williams said “ the only time they move is when they are pushed, and I have the capability of pushing them.”
