Cariboo Regional District directors have voted unanimously to defer making a decision about rezoning to allow for a proposed heli-sports lodge development in the West Chilcotin.
During the CRD board meeting Thursday, Nov. 7, directors were expected to vote on the rezoning application which was submitted by Dave King and Bella Coola Heli Sports.
A recommendation from staff was for the directors reject the application because of the potential impact on wildlife values as cited in a report from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.
Electoral Area J director Tolin Paré asked for an extension until the Jan. 24, 2025 board meeting so board members can read through new information that has been provided by the proponent.
"I would like to make it clear that I do not intend to vote against the recommendation of the Ministry Of Water, Land and Resource Stewartship (WLRS)," Pare said. "The applicant ( Mr. KIng) has crossed every t and dotted every i with this application. The issue that has divided the residents in the area is due to the potential sale of this site to Bella Coola Heli Sports."
Pare said Bella Coola Helisports has operated in this area for 16 years and the current permit issue held expires in 2043 with an option to renew.
"In all fairness I am asking the board to support this deferral because of this latest information that just came in last week from WLRS. As you can see on the map it not only has the restricted airspace over the proposed land that is in this application but also the current Heliport that BCHS has used for 16 years and White Saddle Air service for over 40."
Chair Margo Wagner invited comments from the applicant, but indicated the comments could only be directed at the deferral.
King's private consultant, Don Vanderhorst of Don Vandehorst Consulting Ltd., told the board his background is in working with the provincial government on Crown land dispositions.
"I provide services throughout the province to many users, including adventure tourism, heli skiing, Snow cat, you name it. In addition to that I have worked on many rezoning applications."
He said he knows King well and has done lots of work with Bella Coola Heli Sports.
Thanking the board for considering a deferral, he said they were concerned and surprised about staff's recommendation the rezoning application be rejected.
"We have worked very closely with planning staff over the last several months to address and adhere to the many requirements this application requires," Vanderhost said.
He said they had not had the opportunity to review the report prepared by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship dated Oct. 18, 2024.
"We understand there is a concern in the community and relative concern about helicopter flights and the impact on wildlife, we get that and would say is that this issue is something better served as a discussion between the province and Bella Coola Heli Sports and those discussions are currently ongoing."
Vanderhorst said they will "definitely" be taking advantage of the deferral time.
"In the ecosystems report they talk about the potential impacts from what Bella Coola Heli Sports is doing. In our opinion, the activity that Bella Coola Heli Sports is doing is a small window. It doesn't encompass what is the entirety of what we are seeing with helicopter flights and activities in the valley."
He also said the report does not talk about impacts from the resource industry in the valley.
Wagner then cut him off, saying he was getting into talking beyond the deferral.
Responding, he thanked the board, and said they would be coming back to work with the planning staff for the January meeting.
"Hopefully it can provide an approval for second reading to moved forward," he said. "We are working closely with the Tsideldel First Nation. They continue to be supportive of what we are trying to do here."
Wagner said having the provincial election period hold things up probably did not help with the process.
"I think it is important that we give both parties and our staff and certainly Tsideldel to all get together and hopefully the province will do its due diligence as well," Wagner said.
Horn Lake resident Patrice Gordon was in attendance at the meeting Thursday and said afterwards she was disappointed in the decision to defer to vote until January.
"We really wanted it to be over so that we can all begin to come together again as a community," she told the Tribune. "This is a divisive issue that takes a lot of commitment and emotional energy to navigate. The wildlife reports, prepared by experts who are neutral to the issue, are not something that should be refutable, or that holes can be poked in."
She noted if this land is rezoned commercial and sold off to a multinational investment group whose focus is development, the genie is out of the bottle.
"There’s no going back. I just feel like we need to do a better job of protecting our wild spaces. The locals who are speaking up don’t have a very loud joint voice - We are few. This really worries me."
Editor's note: This article has been updated from the original to show the CRD chair did not invite comments from the public, rather invited the applicant to speak.
