With the plans for a rowboat dock at Hotel Lake being floated, some residents are asking the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) to amend or terminate the proposal.
At the May 20 planning and community development meeting, Ron Knight presented to the SCRD directors what he said were concerns from more than 50 of the area’s residents.
At an SCRD meeting in September 2020, the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society proposed building an access trail and boat dock in Hotel Lake Park to accommodate the supervised use of two rowboats from their museum collection. Access is through the park, and creation of the proposed path would require the clearing of some greenery.
Knight said residents’ concerns are for the water quality and environmental health of the lake, saying residents on the north side of Hotel Lake, including the Hotel Lake Campground, draw raw water from the lake with their own pumps. There’s also a nearby spawning stream, he said.
“We believe that the risks to drinking water for 40 residents on Hotel Lake and tourists at Hotel Lake Campground far outweigh the benefits to a very tiny boat-building programme,” Knight’s letter to the SCRD board said.
In his presentation, Knight raised issue with the potential for the dock to become a party site. By a rope swing at the north end of the lake, Knight said partiers often gather and leave behind trash, “feces and toilet paper in the bushes” and added he’s reported two cigarette-caused brush fires.
“If a large unsupervised dock is installed on the south side of the lake, it will be much more convenient for those irresponsible people to party there,” Knight told directors.
He offered two solutions on behalf of residents. One would see fencing installed along the walkway with a locked gate to discourage unsupervised access. Alternatively, Knight suggested using Katherine Lake Park instead of Hotel Lake. That park is a four-minute drive from where the society’s rowboats are stored, with supervision and amenities that Hotel Lake lacks. In his presentation, Knight also added that there are three launch sites already existing at Hotel Lake.
At the May 20 meeting, SCRD directors asked staff what they’re able to do at this point, having already signed off on adding the proposal to a stewardship memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the heritage society.
Staff pointed out that the SCRD is not the deciding authority on the dock, since the project will need approval from shíshálh Nation and the provincial government before work can proceed. It will also have to meet provincial regulations.
After the presentation, Area A director Leonard Lee said, “I believe there’s a lot of community support for this dock. We’re only hearing one side of the conversation right now.”
He added that discussions around the proposal have been taking place since 2014, it’s been presented at town halls and the project proposal is available on the society’s website.
Rural directors, for areas A,B, D, E and F, voted to refer the materials from Knight’s presentation to staff to be considered feedback, and asked staff to engage with the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society about the comments.
