After a long period of silence, developer Mike Rink is speaking out about efforts to shut down his project at West Beach Village in the North Shuswap.

Rink says the latest attempts to bulldoze his development plans are rife with “misrepresentation, misinformation, defamation and out-and-out lies.”

Last week, a press release announced the banding together of three North Shuswap environmental groups to create the Adams River Alliance – with a mission to advocate for the eventual purchase of the property by the province.

Speaking on behalf of the alliance, comprised of the Shuswap Environmental Action Society, the Shuswap Lake Coalition and the Lee Creek Ratepayers Association, SEAS president Jim Cooperman states in a June 26 press release that “North Shuswap residents are outraged about the bulldozers and huge piles of dirt and gravel at the West Beach Village development adjacent to the mouth of the Adams River and the Roderick-Haig Brown Provincial Park.”

The press release takes issue with Rink’s plan to build a 312-unit village that includes 159 RV and park model lots.

As well, the press release states a legal review facilitated by the group indicates Rink “appears to be trying to get around both the refusal of rezoning and the requirements for subdivision...”

The alliance accuses the developer of being non-conforming in terms of density by having too many campsites per square hectare, and selling long-term leases on motel units they say will actually function as condos and townhouses.

“The alliance believes that if the bylaw-skirting plans of the developers are not met with bylaw enforcement by the local government, the administration of land use becomes a two-tiered system, with one level of enforcement for the rich and litigious and another for the ordinary resident and voter.”

An angry Rink says he is basically refurbishing and resurfacing RV sites and that more than 200 sites were in use for some 50 years as part of the old Cottonwoods Campground.

“We are bringing the operational side up to standards, including a new water system and a state-of-the-art sewage treatment system,” he says of plans to install a bio-reactor filtration system that will be operated by a well-respected and well-known company.

Rink says the riparian area is being restored under the direction of qualified professionals, with plant material being added to improve fish habitat.

In addition, he says he is preserving every tree possible and planting hundreds of new trees and shrubs.

“People need to understand this is not a pristine wilderness site with spawning channels running through it,” he says, noting his anger over reports that he will ruin the world-famous Adams Lake sockeye salmon run.

“Basically they don’t have one shred of proof that we’re doing that,” he says. “Would a reasonable person actually think that we could do that in this day and age without being charged? Would a reasonable person believe that?”

Rink says he is also angry that photos showing spawning salmon are linked to those of the large equipment working on his property, when the reality is the spawning beds are four kilometres away.

“It’s deceit and disinformation, it’s unethical,” he charges.

“They’re not doing the community any favour.” 

But what has perhaps angered Rink the most is the alliance’s attempts to link his development with another North Shuswap RV resort that has recently gone bankrupt, leaving buyers out of pocket, some to the tune of $70,000, according to Cooperman, and with sites that are not usable.

“They blend that story into our story and I’ve had to field calls all weekend,” he says. “They are treading close to the line where lawsuits are going to start. They’ve gone too far.”

Rink says deposits to West Beach Village are paid into a trust account with a lawyer and sites are registered and conveyed to buyers on payment of the balance.

“This is not a sale of shares in a development company which is what that was about,” he says. “They took a risk because they were getting a better deal, and it didn’t work out.”

As to comments his development will benefit only the wealthy, Rink charges the alliance with turning the development into a social issue. He says the same kinds of people who enjoyed Cottonwood are ones that will be able to enjoy West Beach.

He says C1 Commercial zoning offers his company several choices and, while the sites can’t be used as permanent residences, they can be used as rentals.

Another sore point is the large signs the alliance has posted, one across the road and just east of the development, which read: “Warning – See a lawyer before you buy an RV site.”

“Basically it seems like this group will go to any end to get what they want,” says Rink. “If they have something legal then spit it out. What they’re doing now is to cause economic harm by trying to deter people from doing business with us.”

Meanwhile, Kathy Gilbert, CSRD’s deputy manager of development services, says Rink has applied for four building permits – to build an information kiosk, relocation of an older building, an electrical station, a 505-square-foot washroom building with showers, toilets, sinks and laundry facilities, and relocation of a waterfront cabin to a site farther away from a man-made pond and Shuswap Lake.

“These permits will be approved. They are constructing things they need to do in order for the development to proceed,” Gilbert says. “As far as we’re aware they are complying with the zoning bylaw.”

As to the signs warning would-be purchasers, the one nearest West Beach Village was destroyed by vandals on the weekend and Cooperman says the alliance has decided to replace it with a sturdier one.