Sicamous council votes down proposed zoning amendment for section of Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail

It was standing room only in District of Sicamous chambers as council narrowly voted down a zoning bylaw amendment needed for work to begin on the Sicamous section of the Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail.

A public hearing was held on Wednesday, Feb. 14, for three proposed zoning bylaw amendments. About 50 people were in attendance in the gallery, while about 30 more attended via Zoom.

Proposed zoning changes relating to a few RV parks generated almost no comment. However, zoning amendment bylaw 1044 contained a suite of proposed changes, including those necessary to make headway on the Sicamous section of the rail trail.

This zoning amendment was evidently the reason for such a high turnout of residents.

The district allowed for written responses to be submitted prior to the hearing. Nicole Hansen, the district's development services manager, noted they received 18 written responses, with 7 against and 11 in support.

Anyone attending Wednesday's hearing who wished to comment on the bylaw had three minutes to speak. Attendees were allowed to speak a second time once everyone else had an opportunity to weigh in.

The public comment period lasted about an hour and a half, with 11 different residents of properties adjacent to the rail trail speaking out against the zoning amendment.

Some lakeside property owners concerned

Most people who spoke out against the proposed changes said they owned property on the west side of Mara Lake, adjacent to the proposed site of the trail. Many of these speakers were concerned with the crossing agreements they had been offered by the owners of the rail trail in order for them to continue to use their docks.

Many stressed they were not against the rail trail, however they requested a decision on zoning be withheld until they received what was, in their view, a fair crossing agreement. Some of these speakers claimed a loss of dock access would drastically reduce the value of their properties.

A few Sicamous residents spoke in favour of passing the zoning amendment, speaking about the economic and active living benefits of the rail trail.

Other than dock access and crossing agreements, a big point of contention on the proposed rail trail is how it will be accessed.

There is currently no public access to the area of the rail trail that is slated to be developed first, and there is no public parking on the side of the channel where it would be built. The only way for people to currently access the proposed starting point of the rail trail would be to park on the downtown Sicamous side, and walk over the RW Bruhn Bridge.

The bridge is slated to be replaced, and many residents and council members spoke about the safety concerns of asking people to cross the bridge on foot.

Project 'dividing the town'?

Councillors thanked everyone that came out to the public hearing and council meeting, and Coun. Gord Bushell was the first to speak on the proposed zoning change.

“Some people could call it a tough decision but it's really not a tough decision. It's about planning,” Bushell said.

“So it's not that I’m saying no. I just think that we need to sit down with the CSRD [Columbia Shuswap Regional District], and they are hard people to get in touch with.”

Coun. Pam Beech pointed out that Sicamous won’t have direct access to the rail trail.

“The rail trail obviously is a huge asset to everybody,” she said. “If we cannot have access from downtown Sicamous, it's not going to be an economic driver for us.”

She said she has felt "from the beginning" that council doesn't have enough information on the project to move ahead.

“We're just not ready,” Beech said. “So thank you, because now I know I can trust my gut on some of these things. And you just expressed what I have been thinking all along.”

Coun. Ian Baillie said he felt the rail trail project should bring the town together.

“Everybody here tonight, there's a love of this town regardless of what side you took, and to me that was what the spirit of the rail trail should have been,” Baillie said. “But it's not bringing the town together, right now it's dividing the town.”

He said he supported the dock owners and their concerns about the crossing agreements.

“There are residents here with very legitimate concerns about their largest assets,” he said. “I view these crossing agreements as government run amok. I don't think they're needed.”

Coun. Malcolm Makayev was one of the few councillors who spoke in favour of the zoning amendment.

“I'm voting for this because it is going to be a rezoning,” he said.

“Yes, I have concerns about access. Yes, I have concerns about the parking, but I don't want to be negative about it. And that’s up to the regional district and the owners of the rail trail to address — and I have faith that they will do that before it's open to the public.”

Mayor Colleen Anderson was the last to speak before council voted.

“I believe it's a marathon, not a sprint. And so for those reasons, I think that I will be voting in favour of just moving this forward," Anderson said.

The proposed zoning amendment was defeated in a 3-4 vote. Anderson, Makayev and Coun. Bob Evans voted in support of the amendment, while Baillie, Beech, Coun. Siobhan Rich, and Coun. Gord Bushell were opposed.