The new owners of the former Bullock Lake Resort have asked the Islands Trust to amend the Official Community Plan to allow 50 vacation rentals and say they will later ask for an additional 74 for a total of 124 units. The property is zoned for seven residential lots. The current buildings were built without the appropriate zoning. The new owners want to make them legal.
The Trust must refuse this application because:
- It is uncertain that there is enough water to service more than the seven lots for which the property is zoned. Neighbourhood wells could be affected at great cost.
- The large amount of sewage, small lake size and proximity of the septic field are ingredients for phosphorus runoff causing toxic algal blooms in the lake - harming irrigation on nearby farms and native birds, fish, frogs, bats, etc.
- The developer’s own study states that this development will take 23% of the bookings away from existing accommodations on the island.
- The development will result in as many as 200 cars parking on the property and will increase the danger to pedestrians on Robinson Rd. and in Ganges.
- Noise travels easily across the lake. Additional noise and traffic will negatively affect the entire neighbourhood.
