Decision may affect access to lake

By Lachlan LabereMARKET NEWS StaffDec 08 2006 http://www.saobserver.net/
A recent court decision could put a potential public water access point in the North Shuswap into the hands of its two neighbours and set a precedent in the process. Last week the Columbia Shuswap Regional District received word that the B.C. Supreme Court has returned an application to cancel a road allowance at Bowering Road in Lee Creek back to the Land Title Office, effectively shutting the regional district out of a decision-making process that could result in Bowering Road, a proposed public park and water access point, being taken over by the owners of the two neighbouring properties. According to CSRD board chair Rhona Martin, the loss of Bowering might set a precedent that could effect all similar access points in the district. “I think anything that tends to threaten the public’s access to the lake is of great concern,” said Martin. “It’s one access, but who knows. It could be another one and then another one. I know when we did our parks plan here for Area E (Sicamous/Malakwa), our number-one priority was access to the water. I think that it was probably the same in the other areas as well. and that is a public access, and why should two property owners be given something that’s very valuable?” In 2005, Reinhard Burke and William Hlina applied to the Land Title Office to take over the allowance and to amalgamate it into their own neighbouring properties. CSRD directors did not support the proposal and, by voting against it, expected it would be stopped. In a public submission made during the CSRD’s regular meeting of Sept. 2006, Burke, a lawyer, expressed his dissatisfaction with CSRD’s position, noting the regional district had failed to notify him or the Hlina’s of their intention to include Bowering Road, which currently belongs to the Ministry of Transportation, in the Electoral Area F Parks Plan. Burke warned during and after his submission that he and others similarly situated next to public access points being proposed by the area’s parks commission were ready and willing to pursue legal action on the matter. “There’s going to be lots of us, dozens of lawsuits,” said Burke. “And the cost of that alone will be two- to three- hundred grand. That’s the direction that we’re going.”

Don Quixote Note: Actual decision can be found at http://www.canlii.org/bc/cas/bcsc/2006/2006bcsc1775.html

Hlina and Burke v. the Registrar of Land Titles et al, 2006 BCSC 1775