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Gas N Go Challenge
We've received a disappointing ruling in a Sierra Club lawsuit to protect a nationally Important Bird Area from a gas station. Sierra Comox Valley, undaunted, continues its work to protect the Courtenay River estuary.
On July 2, the B.C. Court of Appeals handed down its decision rejecting Sierra Club Canada’s request to quash the development permit for a proposed gas station on Dyke Road in Comox.
“The news was disappointing but not totally unexpected," said Mike Bell, chair of Sierra Comox Valley. "We have been preparing for this eventuality for some months.”
Mike Bell emphasized the importance of placing the court decision in perspective.
“The bottom line is this,” said Bell. “The court decision allows the CVRD and (the owner) Mr. Procter to move to the next stage of the project—the building-permit stage. But, it doesn’t allow them to desecrate the Courtenay River Estuary with a high-risk project simply because there is no adequate legislation or zoning to protect it. The unresolved environmental and safety issues must be dealt with.”
What's next?
Sierra Comox Valley is continuing its important work to protect the Courtenay River estuary.
"We are working to make the Courtenay River Estuary a true eco-neighbourhood where humans, and other species and life-forms, all sharing a common sense of place, live together in harmony," said Mike Bell.
Meanwhile, the group still has to raise about $40,000 to pay for court costs and continue their work. Please support their work with a targeted donation.
"For a relatively small non-profit group, that’s a lot of door knocking, a lot of letters and emails and posters requesting donations. We are not discouraged. We see the money as an investment," says Mike.
In recognition of his work to protect the estuary, Mike Bell was recently named one of Canada's top ten Hometown Heroes - the only one from BC - by the national charitable group Earth Day Canada.
"His most notable accomplishment was leading the community against the development of a new gas service station on Comox Road," said the ten judges in a statement.
The proposed Gas N Go site is in an ecologically sensitive area, in an earthquake zone, on a flood plain and on highly unstable ground. It is less than 60 metres from the feeding grounds of migrating salmon. It is in a Canadian Important Bird Area, the second most important estuary for migrating birds in B.C.
"The court case didn’t deal with any of these concerns,” said Bell.
Early on, the Sierra Club recognized that there were no adequate environmental laws upon which to build a court case. So it had to build its case on the Municipal Act.
Sierra Club Comox Valley will continue to raise public awareness and oppose the development of the gas station. It will also expand its longer-term interests by dealing with the Regional Growth Strategy and the development of a new Official Community Plan.
Working with other groups and government departments, it will help develop and implement a vision for the estuary. And it will mobilize its members and friends to keep the pressure on local governments and hold them accountable for preserving the spectacular environment of the Comox Valley.
