Letter to the Editor

Wasa residents are up in arms over proposed OCP and zoning changes (RDEK Bylaws No. 3245 & 3246) that would allow an urban style subdivision to be built on 10 hectares of land at Wasa Lake Park Drive and Lazy Lake Road.

Developer Barry Benson, hiding behind Richard Howarth, has requested changes to the Wasa OCP and zoning to allow for a sub-division with 16 properties and homes to be built across the road from the lake.

Neither party live at Wasa, nor have they provided any evidence to support their assertion the aquifer (potable water) would not be adversely affected by such a concentration of homes and septic systems. This alone should stop this proposal until an extensive aquifer study, at their expense, can be undertaken to determine if the local ground water can sustain such a development.

This concentration of homes is a threat to the aquifer and those existing residents who rely on ground water, which has been at historic lows during this drought.

Wasa does not have a potable water delivery system, does not have a wastewater treatment system, and does not have a fire department nor emergency responders.

This type of concentrated subdivision is best suited for places like Cranbrook and Kimberley, not Wasa. If it were proposed in either of those municipalities, the developer would be subject to architectural controls and requirements like green space, parks, playgrounds and bike paths. Here at Wasa, Benson gets a free pass and a blank cheque to create a threat to the lake, the aquifer and the community for decades to come.

The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) and Electoral Area E Director have turned a deaf ear to Wasa residents denying them a public hearing. RDEK will only hold a ZOOM meeting (July 30) for selected registrants. Many seniors at Wasa do not know Zoom nor have access to it.

Providing residents with a forum to hear the proponents proposal and present their concerns in an open in-person meeting is the first responsibility of an elected official. The Area E Director’s lack of support for Wasa is appalling. A Zoom meeting is underhanded.

The RDEK has systematically failed to protect Wasa from over development by applying haphazard subdivision rules over the past 40 years. More recently ignoring Interior Health’s “best practices” suggesting property sizes from subdivision should be no smaller than one hectare. There are properties at Wasa that have a septic system, but not a water well because the property is too small to meet Provincial well and septic regulations.

No wonder people at Wasa are concerned about the RDEK and Area E Director’s short-sighted support for this development.

Who supports the local community? Who is listening to Wasa residents?

When institutions (RDEK) and elected officials (Area E Director) fail to listen to the people in the affected area, and go out of their way to hinder any real opportunity to engage in open discussion, citizens get upset and angry. The Area E Director’s undemocratic actions and tone deaf response’s fuels citizen outrage.

The irony of this situation; not one RDEK Board Director, including the Area E Director, lives at Wasa.

Supporting these OCP and zoning changes will destroy the character of this rural community now and for future generations.

Please show your support for Wasa.

Email your objection to Barry Benson’s development as presented in RDEK Bylaws 3245 & 3246 to: [email protected]. 

I support Interior Health’s “best practices” where rural subdivision should be no smaller than one hectare.

I am opposed to RDEK Bylaws No. 3245 & 3246.

Nowell Berg,

Wasa

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