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islandclimber
Jun 4, 2006, 7:50 PM
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Registered: May 2, 2004
Posts: 94
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Has anyone seen this?
From the Penticton Hearld:
Farm owner Hugh Dunlop has withdrawn an application to have the Skaha Bluffs parking lot portion of his south Penticton property removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
However, that has done nothing to remove the uncertainty surrounding future parking and access to the popular rock climbing area.
Dunlop said Thursday he now plans to sell his entire 45-hectare (115-acre) farm overlooking Skaha Lake. Any decision on continuing to provide parking for rock climbers would be up to the new owners.
Dunlop outlined his decision in a hand-written note to city planner Donna Butler.
"Although I strongly believe this is the right thing to do, I am unwilling to fight this out with Valleyview Road residents," he stated in the letter.
"I regret to inform you I will no longer be able to provide access through my property to the Skaha Bluffs. The Valleyview Road access will close permanently on Nov. 1, 2006."
Dunlop said he hopes this gives the city enough time to find alternative access to the bluffs, suggesting the new property owners might reconsider the parking closure.
Commenting while sitting next to the bluffs' parking area at the north end of his property, Dunlop said his decision to sell is not meant to be a bargaining ploy.
"It's not a gun to the head, it really isn't," he said. "It's just not worth fighting it out with the people in the neighbourhood, as far as I'm concerned."
Dunlop had wanted to remove a six-hectare section of the farm from the ALR, while adding other portions to the land reserve. The proposal was scheduled to be reviewed by the city's agricultural advisory committee later this month before being forwarded to city council. If supported by the city, it would have been forwarded to the provincial Agricultural Land Commission.
The proposal generated early criticism from some neighbouring residents along Valleyview Road who oppose the loss of agricultural land and fear the possibility of future housing development in the area.
However, Dunlop noted only about one-third of the parcel involved could be considered farmable land. The eastern portion of the property stretches into the bluffs themselves, even though they are within the ALR.
He planned to build a new home on the property for his family, but had no plans for further development. The remainder of the farm would be developed into vineyards.
Dunlop had earlier suggested if he could not get the land out of the ALR, he would consider closing down the parking area anyway. Now, he said he's willing to extend access into 2007 on a limited basis if the property is not sold by then.
He said the ALR application was not financially driven, but aimed at getting a final resolution to the bluffsí access issue. He has operated the parking area for 14 years and charges $3 per person for climbers to park on his property and access the bluffs. He built a shelter and a series of steps along a portion of the trail leading up to the climbing area.
Ideally, Dunlop said, he'd like to see most of the north end of the farm retained as a natural area and recreational/park purposes. A small pond sits at the base of the bluffs and wildlife frequent the area, despite the presence of vehicles parked nearby.
Valleyview Road narrows down to a single lane at its south end, just before the entrance to Dunlop's property. Although rainy weather over the May long weekend kept many rock climbers away, there was still 500 people who turned out on the Sunday.
Mayor Jake Kimberley is in Montreal this week for the annual meeting of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and could not be reached for comment Thursday.
© Friday, June 2, 2006Copyright PentictonHerald.ca
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yetanotherdave
Jun 4, 2006, 10:26 PM
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Registered: Mar 19, 2005
Posts: 243
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CASBC is aware of this - I mentioned it to Anders, and he said that they were already working on it. He'll update the gripped and squamish-climbing forums for details.
I'll post any progress I hear about to this thread.
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tattooed_climber
Jun 5, 2006, 4:57 AM
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Registered: Dec 13, 2003
Posts: 4838
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any word about reopening the old parking lot near chatsworth?
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