1801 Roeder Ave - savary island committee

Janine Reimer
May 6, 2010
Page 4 of 4
There was an airstrip on D.L. 1375. It was built in 1962 by a forestry company, and was used for
emergency flights between 1980 and 1999. When those flights ceased in 1999, this left Savary Island
without emergency air service. Following an emergency evacuation in 2002, I began to advocate for the
establishment of a helipad on the Savary Land.
As part of this advocacy we commissioned various surveys of potential sites and engaged in
negotiations for the placement of a helipad on D.L. 1375. In 2003, the Savary Island Fire Department and
the helicopter contractor approved a site if four to six trees were cut nearby. At that time, TNT stated that
the cutting of the trees was acceptable to them. However, I believed that because these were old growth
trees located on a “live dune”, any cutting of these trees was unacceptable. I informed TNT of this on
January 13, 2004, suggested an alternate site on the Savary Land and offered to pay $20,000 for the
construction of the helipad at that site. At that time the “live dune” had been identified by The B.C.
Conservation Data Centre (CDC) as habitat for the camissonia contorta primrose. The CDC also had
identified that the road’s current location was having an adverse impact on the “live dune”.
Later in 2004, a new Emergency Service Contractor was approved by the Province who informed
me that a helipad would require significantly different improvements than had been previously discussed.
Again, I hired a professional surveyor who produced another plan for clearing and siting the helipad. The
main issue is night landing which now requires close to a full size airstrip. However, this plan required an
environmental impact that was also larger than I was willing to accept. To date, no helipad has been
constructed.
TNT has never financially contributed to this study, or any of the consulting or engineering reports
that the Sahlin family has undertaken with respect to the Savary Land.
I have never received an offer from TNT to purchase any land owned by the Sahlin family.
However, as described above we have offered to sell portions of the Savary Land to TNT on more than one
occasion. None of those offers were accepted.
Our intention is for my wife and me to build a cottage for ourselves on the Savary Land, and for
each of our children to have their own cottages. All the cottages would be on parcels of not less than
10 acres each and would comply with the spirit and parameters of the Savary Island Official Community
Plan (the “OCP”)
Long before the OCP was adopted, my family and I have strived to minimize the “human
footprint” on the property, since we value the forest and beaches, and want to protect the ecologically
sensitive areas.
Given my life long association with Savary, and our 39-year family ownership of land on Savary,
it is our belief that Savary is a very unique and special place. The OCP is an important document that can
be used to guide development in a manner which will preserve the ecological importance of live dunes,
unique plant species, and reasonable private use of the land. We believe in private property rights and that
a Qualified Professional can balance our goals of development. Protection of sites of archeological
importance and respect of first nation’s heritage is also of the upmost importance. For these important
reasons, the proposed changes to, and spirit of the OCP must be based on sound, defensible, scientific
investigation and knowledge. Through a comprehensive understanding of Savary Island, we can hope to
preserve our unique opportunity.
I appreciate the efforts of the SIC and look forward to working together toward the future of
Savary Island.
Sincerely,
C. Roger Sahlin