Updated Feb 15 at 8 a.m.:
The three-year saga of the closure of Sechelt's Seawatch subdivision may be coming to an end.
“The District is considering what steps are to be taken in response to the BC Supreme Court decision,” said the District of Sechelt's one-line statement late Feb. 14, on the eve of the third anniversary of the nieghbourhood's evacuation.
That followed the province's refusal to sign a request from District Mayor Darnelda Siegers to renew the State of Local Emergency (SOLE) request past Feb. 11. Former Seawatch resident Ed Pednaud told Coast Reporter on Feb. 15 that the property owners have received no official notice regarding changes to the SOLE from the District.
Local public notice on whether Sechelt’s Seawatch state of local emergency continues past Feb. 11 was not posted. As of 11 a.m. Feb. 12, the most recent provincially approved renewal of the order on the municipal website and at the subdivision, which was closed in 2019 due to subsurface instability, shows an expiry date of midnight Feb. 11.
Earlier story posted Feb. 13 at 1 p.m.
Emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca indicates the order remains in place. Details on the SOLE’s most recent renewal date are not included with that posting.
On Feb. 7, Coast Reporter asked the municipality if a request to extend the order past its third anniversary on Feb. 15 was being prepared. Sechelt has not confirmed whether the mayor signed such a request. [Editor's note: The District has since sent a statement, "The District put in a request to renew and it was not renewed in time."]
A resident of The Shores neighbourhood adjacent to Seawatch, John Sapo reported suspicious activity involving the movement of household items by individuals on foot and in a pickup truck on Feb. 12. He reported the incident to the RCMP and Coast Reporter, noting that the activity was recorded by security cameras on his property around 12:08 a.m. that morning. Commenting on the lack of security around the abandoned homes that he believes has contributed to break-in problems in the area, Sapo wrote in an email that “the neighbourhood is fed up with inaction” on the part of those in charge.
More to come...
