July 18, 2006

The Mayor and Council

District of Sechelt

2nd Floor 5797 Cowrie St.
V0N 3A0

Dear Mayor Reid and Councillors,

Re: SilverBack - Planning Committee recommendation from meeting of July 11, 2006

We, the board of the Sandy Hook Community Association, do not feel that the referenced bylaw recommendation should be passed as a motion of Council.  In any event we ask that Council make formal provisions as follows:

1. That any formal public hearing following a reading not be held until, at the earliest, late September, 2006 in order to provide time for public meetings and to assure residents are available following the holiday season.

2. The Developers shall make available to the public PRIOR to any meetings, by printed copies and electronic means, the investigative reports that have been developed and which are, in part, the basis of the rezoning application. In particular, but not limited to;
1. The traffic report (Bunt Report) which is the basis of the assertions regarding traffic impact and at least pro forma plans of the proposed by-pass road system suggested in conjunction with the Sechelt Indian Band.
2. Any reports which confirm that the water table may be drawn down for use of the development without impact upon Shannon Creek or other important waterways.

3. The applicant should be required to hold one or more public meetings of the Question and Answer type PRIOR to any formal public hearing, and:
1. That the meeting be chaired by a qualified professional with no vested interest;
2. Responsible senior members of the development group along with qualified representative experts from the consulting firms shall attend to give a presentation and then respond to public questions with ‘corporate responses’ and not just speculation by individuals;
3. If all questions cannot be handled in a reasonable time then a second meeting shall be convened to allow the public to continue the dialogue;
4. If there are questions where the answers are left outstanding by the developers on the basis that they “will get back” then a second meeting shall be convened for that report or some alternate step adopted to get the information to all the public.

We accept that “every ‘i’ cannot be dotted” on a large development like this but the items of major impact must be clear and resolved.

We realize that these provisions will mean a cost and an effort for the developer that may be unprecedented in the District of Sechelt, however, it is this board’s contention that this development is without precedent in size and impact.

Yours truly,

Sandy Hook Community Association

Per:

Robert D’Arcy

Secretary/Treasurer