Opposition and rumours continue to swirl around West Beach Village in the North Shuswap.

While environmentalists and area residents try to stop developer Mike Rink’s resort development, Kathy Gilbert, deputy manager of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s development services, says the project is moving forward.

“The property owner is within his rights to construct in accordance with the zoning bylaws,” she says. “So there will be development unless the province buys the property.”

But no word has been heard from Victoria about purchasing the site in order to add it to the Roderick Haig-Brown Park and the government fiscal deadline was March 31.

In the meantime, Rink has applied for four building permits.

“They haven’t been issued, but we’re working on it,” says Gilbert. “Because it’s in the flood plain we need a restrictive covenant, which says they will build in accordance with the instructions of a geo-technical engineer who specializes in flood plain management.”

With an official community plan adopted by the CSRD board in June, Gilbert says the regional district can now issue development permits, something that would have to happen before Rink could get building permits for the site.

“We have all the statutory rules in place now,” says Gilbert. “We’ve got an OCP and zoning bylaws, and it appears he is abiding by the bylaws.”

Dispelling one rumour, Gilbert says Rink does have an architect on-board, as required by law when a project includes a residential building with five or more dwelling units or 11 or more guest rooms. 

“Developer Mike Rink is operating within the parameters laid out by government,” she says. “At least for now.”

As to concerns about what effect development will have on fish habitat, Dean Watts, a federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans habitat biologist in Kamloops, says research reveals juveniles of several salmon species use the foreshore area in and around the confluence of the Adams River and Shuswap Lake.

“Generally speaking, sockeye, chinook and coho are there in the spring, but all have slightly different timing for juvenile rearing,” Watts says. “The other thing in terms of timing is that most of the fish that are rearing are generally going to be out and moving to different waters by the end of June or first week of July.  

In terms of what effect West Beach Village will have on resident fish, Mike Crowe, acting manager of DFO’s Oceans and Habitat branch says he is waiting for Rink to deliver an environmental impact report.

The report must be filed by a qualified fisheries biologist with aquatic systems experience in fish and fish habitat, says Crowe, who notes the report needs to relate to water and riparian areas.

“The way the Fisheries Act works is that it’s essentially a response. An individual has the right to do anything in and around water but they can’t harm habitat,” Crowe says. “As a preventive measure, we strongly suggest developers file a development project plan before they go ahead.”

Crowe says DFO staff have had lots of dialogue with Rink over the past couple of  years but have not yet received a final plan.

“In the upland portion, our monitoring determines they have been essentially staying far enough back from the water’s edge to not harm fish habitat,” he says, noting DFO is also awaiting information on potential impacts to the offshore area from the large buoys Rink installed last year.

He says DFO would assess the Lee Creek site if they felt there was harm to habitat. Their response could include working co-operatively with the proponent or undertaking an investigation for a possible violation of the Fisheries Act.

“We have a lot of people in regular patrols looking at the site and reporting,” Crowe says, admitting he has received many public complaints. “I do need to mention at this time, as relates to the upland portion of his property, we do not believe there have been works that have violated the Fisheries Act.”

And that’s just business as usual, says Rink.

“As far as I am concerned, it’s a routine matter,” he says. “We have a qualified environmental professional and he is providing information as required.”

Angered by the rumour that trades have quit because they have not been paid, Rink utters an oath.

“We just paid out $1.5 million to contractors and suppliers,” he says, noting large equipment is no longer on the property because water, sewer and electrical work has been completed. “There are at least 39 people onsite doing landscaping.”