Sawmill Road is a small neighbourhood on the north end of Cortes Island, near the Whaletown Ferry Terminal. The road ends with a cul-de-sac, and up until a couple of months ago, a modest footpath led down to the beach from the road. In July of this year, large machinery destroyed the pathway and created a newly laid crush, private road in its place. The road has a chain across it, accompanied by signs that say, “Private Property” and “Beware of Dog”.
Several neighbours have posted articles about the situation on the Tideline. Their complaints were confirmed by the bylaw officer, John Gelacio, for the Strathcona Regional District (SRD). Gelacio noted that there was a disturbance at 11:30 PM one night in July, at the property in question, that has caused "6-8 complaints per day". Gelacio explained that on Cortes Island, there are no bylaws for noise or construction hours. He also noted that, despite the large number of complaints that the SRD office has received, there are 'no powers of enforcement.
CKTZ corresponded with John Neil, planner for the SRD, via email. Neil was not available for an interview, but he shared a survey of the property in question. The public, online map appears to show road allowance for Sawmill Road extending far past the road itself and reaching towards the beach. Neil confirmed,
“Sawmill Road extends as a road right-of-way beyond the cul-de-sac but does not quite reach the foreshore as there is approx. 3.5 metres of private land in between.”
Sawmill Road allowance extends past the road itself, 3.5 meters short of the public beach. Image courtesy of the Strathcona Regional District.
CKTZ closely examined the SRD maps available online of the entire island. There are 29 roads on Cortes that meet the natural coastline, in over 30 areas of the roads. In Whaletown, only one of these access points is an official park; Whale’s Rest Park, at the BC Ferry Terminal. Squirrel Cove also has one official park, Gnat Park. Mansons Landing, the southern town of Cortes is laden with public beach access including 7 parks.
Neil explains how beach access could be established on Sawmill Road and other similar areas on Cortes.
“Public beach access was not a consideration when this parcel was created in 1914 … The only way beach access could be restored over private property would be to enter into an easement or right of way agreement with the willing consent of the current property owner.”
CKTZ requested an interview with the owner of the private property in question: they declined to comment. Mercedes Grant is a local neighbour, and when CKTZ inquired with her about what would be an ideal path forward for the neighbourhood she responded, “if we were to go to a public consultation process at the point that we're at now, I think the most realistic option would be to create a public easement that would allow the public to continue accessing that shoreline in a way that would be free from constant surveillance, from threats of getting attacked by dogs.”
British Columbian’s right to public space is not an isolated issue on Cortes. The University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre and the Recreation Council of BC recently released a guide called "Wild Places and Green Spaces". The collaboration intends to help people in the province understand their legal rights to public space and prove it.
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