Neighbours are divided over a plan to regulate the future land use and character of the West Porpoise Bay neighbourhood.At a public hearing held on the newly completed West Porpoise Bay Neighbourhood Plan Sept. 22, dozens of speakers from the area gave passionate pleas for various forms of the plan to be reconsidered.The plan presented by the District of Sechelt was option one. It included planning principles such as "recognize the importance of open space and large property sizes in creating a unique neighbourhood" and "support rural land uses such as small-scale hobby farms on small acreages."West Porpoise Bay is currently made up of a mix of land uses. The plan presented wants those uses to stay the same.Some at the public hearing wanted the opportunity to subdivide their larger lots, while others were concerned about the meshing of hobby-farms and residential houses in the same neighbourhood."The current owners in The Shores most assuredly did not buy their homes thinking that farm use might occur directly behind them," said realtor Kenan MacKenzie in a letter to the district presented at the meeting.In the letter, MacKenzie expressed his desire for option two, which would allow for some subdivision of large multi-acre properties, creating a buffer between residential and rural use areas.Option two wasn't on the table at the public hearing, and those who sat for the last 18 months on the steering committee for the plan were steadfast in their belief that option one represented the wishes and values of the majority, and allowed for sufficient future growth in the area.Michael Bakst was a member of the steering committee. He led the charge to the microphone after planner Ray Parfitt introduced the plan."All the people I talked to said they bought their land anticipating space and greenery, not noise. And we don't want more and more people here. We know it's going to happen but why do we have to rush? We don't need to subdivide. That is the desire of most," Bakst said.The room was clearly divided as opposite views on subdivisions were expressed.This is the sixth of eight neigh-bourhood plans undertaken by the district in the last two years.The Local Government Act states that neighbourhood plans will be used to direct council in their decision making in the coming years.Sechelt council will have to decide whether to accept the West Porpoise Bay Neighbourhood Plan as it was presented at the Sept. 22 meeting. The issue will come back to council sometime in October.
