A seasonal marina operator is taking the Regional District of Mount Waddington to court to quash a zoning bylaw amendment that “will allow intensive industrial activity on a relatively small sheltered bay” of West Cracroft Island near the northern tip of Vancouver Island.
George Cambridge, his wife Gailanne Cambridge and their neighbour Roger Hodkinson filed a petition in BC Supreme Court on June 13. They own property on the island’s Port Harvey Inlet, and the Cambridges operate Port Harvey Marine Resort from their home. The inlet is “frequented by numerous marine tourists,” the petition states.
They claim a property near their homes “has been used unlawfully for operation of a commercial marine repair and salvage business” for more than a decade. Hodkinson and the Cambridges claim the business has caused nuisance to their properties and was contrary to zoning bylaws until the regional district granted an amendment in May 2018. The rezoning, they claim, “will cause nuisances to the petitioners, namely noise, light at night, contamination of the air and water and further destruction of the wild beauty of a tranquil bay.”
“The petitioners already know, from having suffered from the adverse effects on their properties from the unlawful use of the [rezoned] property, that the rezoning is incompatible with the use of their property,” the petition states. “The rezoning permits more intense use causing greater nuisance.”
George Cambridge also claims the rezoning will harm his marina business after “numerous patrons and potential patrons” informed the regional district that they “will reduce their willingness to come to Port Harvey” as a result of the rezoning.
The petitioners seek a declaration that the amendment is void and an order to set aside the district’s zoning bylaw amendment. The petition’s factual basis has not been tested in court, and the Regional District of Mount Waddington had not responded to the claims by press time.
