Resident Bill Jollymore said a government plan for developing residential properties around Lac des Roches and Birch Lake could be an economic and environmental disaster.
The province, through Land and Water British Columbia, Inc. (LWBC), is seeking to sell and develop Crown land around Lac des Roches and Birch Lake. Proposed are 500 full-time residential units, a hotel and a golf course.
“Our goal and vision in this case is to bring economic activity to the area,” said Robin Levesque, the LWBC regional manager of Development and Marketing. “Our job is to add value to Crown land before we sell it. We do that by reducing risk for a potential developer through mechanisms like rezoning or official community plan redesignations”.
Assisting Levesque, who is managing the project for the Crown corporation, is consultant Therese Zulninick of Urban Systems Ltd.
Though the plan is in its very early stages, Jollymore, who along with his wife, has been a resident of Lac des Roches since August 2001, is not at all impressed with what he’s seen so far.
“We looked at the plan,” said Jollymore. “The consultant was available to explain the factors involved about what’s going to happen. I think it will be an absolute devastation.”
Jollymore and his wife live at Lac des Roches for 10 months of the year. And though he doesn’t claim to be an environmentalist, he is passionate about the area.
“The impact on the environment and wildlife and the assets of the area would be astronomical,” said Jollymore. “You’re going to have 500 new boats, 500 snowmobiles and 600 ATVs. When you put 500 boats on the lake with 500 motors putting effluent in the water – it doesn’t make sense.”
Jollymore was even less impressed when he was told by a planning consultant from Urban Systems Ltd. that all environmental rules, regulations and covenants would be the responsibility of the developer and not the government.
“You know what that’s like,” said Jollymore. “When there’s profit involved, you’re looking at the fox guarding the hen house.”
Jollymore questions the attempt to sell the land in the first place.
“The government’s idea according to this thing was the consultants were to look for a pristine lake with pristine wilderness that could carry the capacity of 500 homes,” said Jollymore. “They looked at a lot of them and this was the one they selected. So now they’re going to sell the citizens’ inheritance and that of their children – of Crown land – for a quick profit.”
Gordon Marshall, a realtor in 100 Mile for over 31 years, also lives at Lac des Roches.
“I can’t imagine a developer sticking his neck out to do this,” said the retiree. “It’s a wonderful idea, but the location is wrong.”
He said the potential infrastructure costs involved would be in the millions.
Levesque said LWBC is looking at developing up to 500 two-and-a-half acre lots with shared systems for utilities such as water and sewage disposal.
Marshall said this was tried at Ace High Resort at Watch Lake.
“The previous owner tried this process of making a stratified system where they offered a sewer connection, a water connection and a garbage collection system,” said Marshall. “It never flew. We tried to market if for two years, and we couldn’t get anyone interested at $43,000 a lot.”
Marshall estimates the costs for the Lac des Roches project could push the property cost to over $100,000 a lot for infrastructure costs alone.
Jollymore ad Marshall both noted that another significant issue would be electricity.
“The power line that’s out this way now is at its absolute maximum,” said Marshall. “It actually reaches a brownout stage in the coldest weather of the year. They would have to upgrade the line all the way from Lone Butte to out this end, or put a new power line in from Little Fort. You’re talking millions to do a ob like that.”
Lac des Roches falls within the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) and the Cariboo Regional District (CRD). The area the LWBC is focusing on lies in the TNRD.
The majority of the population of Lac des Roches and Birch Lake reside in the CRD, which provides policing and fire services. Currently there are no such services in the immediate area on the TNRD side, nor are there plans for such services.
There are also no plans for other services such as hospitals and schooling.
“I’d asked the consultant that, and we were told there’ll be nothing like that,” said Jollymore. “They’d have to depend on Little Fort for grade school, Barriere or Clearwater for high school, Kamloops for a hospital and Clearwater for RCMP, Conservation Officer and ambulance service.”
Marshall said distance and weather would deter residents from wanting to travel to surrounding communities for basic services.
“That’s the other part that’s a joke,” said Marshall. “We have the most severe weather in the whole of the 100 Mile area because of the elevation.”
Jollymore is doubtful potential buyers would want to live there year-round.
“I don’t think a bunch of people from the Coast who have never seen a Cariboo winter will want to come and spend a winter where it’s minus 40,” said Jollymore.
Jollymore added there isn’t an economy in the immediate area that could support employment.
“These people won’t be able to drive to Kamloops to work, and there are no job opportunities in 100 Mile,” Jollymore commented. “They’re going to build a hotel and it would probably employ 40 to 50 minimum wage people, but that’s not economic development.”
And neither Marshall nor Jollymore could see the hotel open ear-round.
Levesque said that the LWBC is still in an information gathering stage and citizens’ concerns will be taken into account.
“We are very concerned about what they’re looking at and about getting their input as much as possible,” said Levesque.
Levesque and Zulninick held a week-long open house in early August, and will be at public meetings (4-6 p.m.) Aug. 18 in Little Fort and Aug. 25 at Roe Lake to share what they’ve heard.
“We need to look at alternative scenarios,” said Levesque. “And that’s what this is all about is to get some meaningful consultation going so that we can represent as best as possible what the people in the area desire.”
Levesque said that the LWBC is working within TNRD and CRD guidelines, and that both regional districts and local government will play a part in monitoring all development and enforcing each of their own respective environmental guidelines.
These guidelines will be applied to all aspects of development, said Levesque, encouraging better services such as water treatment and sewage.
We’re looking at a shared well or a packaged system for the sewer that cleans the water before it puts it back in the ground, with the idea of protecting the lake the best we can.”
The LWBC is also looking at boating restrictions.
“A lot of people felt we should limit the use of speedboats and Sea Doos on this lake.”
Darron Campbell, the CRD Communications supervisor, said any development done within the CRD’s jurisdiction will follow CRD guidelines.
“We have a commitment from LWBC and Urban Systems to come and do a formal referral and presentation to the CRD,” said Campbell. “At that point we’ll do a formal review of the plan, we’ll put it against our development criteria, like our Shoreline Management Strategy and our Interlakes Area Community Plan… and judge it.”
In the Lac des Roches proposal, 80 lots on the CRD side have been drawn out for development. Levesque said these lots have faced even more opposition that those on the TNRD side.
“That’s one of the proposals that’s not getting a lot of support,” said Levesque. “In fact it’s getting a lot of opposition, so those are the ones we really need to rethink.”
Levesque said the LWBC will be meeting with the CRD.
“It’s a shared lake so we need to get their involvement in terms of what types of density regulations they look at on their side and things like that,” said Levesque. “We act very much as a private developer in the sense that we follow municipal rules. We don’t just say we’re the government and to heck with you, we can do whatever we want.”
Though some developers have expressed interest in the project, said Levesque, there isn’t anyone specific lined up.
“In terms of successful development for this project, it will be determined through a joint-venture proposal call, said Levesque. “So it will be a competitive process open to anyone.”
However, because the LWBC has not yet determined the total scope of the project. Levesque could not estimate costs developers may face.
Jollymore, however, believes the cost will be great regardless of the scope.
“It’s of a tremendous magnitude, and I can see lots of pitfalls with it other than the fact that it may not fly, which I don’t know if it will,” said Jollymore. “Even if they scratch the ground and abandon it you’ve got a mess.”