MERVILLE, B.C. – A Merville resident’s plan to extract water from his property for commercial purposes continues to face heated opposition from his neighbours, and across the Comox Valley.
Christopher Scott Mackenzie and his wife are looking to extract ground water from their family well along Sackville Road, for their bottled water operation.
A public hearing on a rezoning application that would add water and beverage bottling use to Mackenzie’s two hectare property drew a full house at the Florence Filberg Centre last night.
The majority of the speakers at the open house opposed Mackenzie’s application, citing environmental and future climate change as their main concerns, as well as the precedent that would be set if the rezoning is approved.
Jason Hall and his young family live next to the property. Hall said he and his family survive off a ground water in the area and fears that “it will go away if this gets approved.”
“It’s already been proven, the fact that there (haven’t) been tests recently to go along with the approval of the process (which) is very troublesome,” Hall said.
“I oppose the change for many ethical and personal reasons. Obviously being so close, it’s going to change the way we live. It’s going to invade our privacy, there’s going to be an increase in noise in the area and it’s going to go against the values we believe in. We don’t want our water taken away, we don’t believe that any one party should benefit more than the rest of the community on a resource that belongs to everyone there.”
Planner Brian Chow noted that the bylaw is at first reading and that on Nov. 21, 2017, the province issued a conditional water license for the applicants to extract up to 10,000 litres of water per day from their property for fresh water bottling.
Chow said if the bylaw were to be approved, “then this use will be added to the property.”
In the spring, CVRD staff received a letter from K’ómoks First Nation “In which they strongly opposed this proposal,” Chow said.
Photo by Troy Landreville/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio
Mackenzie spoke during the open house and said “there has not been a single objection raised relating to land use that would provide a reasonable basis for rejecting (the rezoning application).”
He continued, “evidence to date shows that the project will have no discernable effect on the water system in the region or on the neighbouring properties in any way.”
“Even if for some unknown reason in the future there was a discernable negative impact on the aquifer or surrounding wells from this license, the license itself is subject to review by the province.”
Mackenzie stressed there is “no risks whatsoever to the aquifer.”
He also noted that the license is limited in quantity and can’t be increased without a further application to the ministry.
“Ultimately our water source is 100 per cent sustainable, and the business is family-owned and operated selling the product to local customers.”
Mackenzie described his proposed building as “small and inconspicuous” and said the project will “not impact the neighbourhood in any meaningful way.”
“There will be no increase in traffic, no noise pollution, nor any other issues that are often appropriate considerations when the CVRD reviews applications concerning land use involving the commercial component.”
Bruce Gibbons has been leading opposition to the proposal, and said that he moved to Merville for the peace and tranquility in the area.
“We didn’t want the prospect of development infringing on the greenspace and the quiet,” Gibbons said. “The Official Community Plan of the CVRD has designated this area as rural/residential properties amongst other ALR properties. So it’s agricultural and we’d like to see it stay that way. We don’t think it should be treated as a unique property.”
Gibbons said variances that would change the rezoning is a “slippery slope and I don’t think we want to go there.”
