Seven owners of townhouses in the Meadow Lanes development have been served with trespassing notices from BC Rail properties. The homes back onto the site of the recently defeated rezoning application for the Silverthorne development. The notices were posted on the trespassed areas, sent via double registered mail and hand delivered to the property owners.
The letter, signed by Richard K. Myhill-Jones, asked that residents "remove anything you own and vacate the property by July 7 and not to re-enter the property." One of the contested issues was a fence that BCR claims encroaches its land by 3 metres. As of July 11, the fence was still in place.
Asked why BCR had not acted on the July 7 deadline, Myhill-Jones refused to comment but suggested that one of the affected townhouse residents be contacted. The resident declined to go on the record, but confirmed that both sides were working on "an amicable resolution" to the situation.
One suggested outcome is that the encroachments would be forgiven in exchange for the residents supporting an amendment to the current zoning to allow for a multi-family residential development.
A Meadows Lane resident confirmed that while a meeting between BCR, the Village of Pemberton (VOP) and the complex’s residents was in discussion, no dates had been set. Asked why BCR would meet with residents of Meadow Lanes when any zoning decision would be at the discretion of council, the resident said: "BCR didn’t want to make anyone mad."
Many of the residents of Meadow Lanes protested the development because they believed that their units backed onto property designated parkland. The perceived history of Lot A arose during the recent application to have the property rezoned.
Whether this information was presented to the buyers by the realtors or representatives of the Village of Pemberton remains unclear. What is clear is that that the property has been identified as a prime area for development in the village’s Official Community Plan for close to a decade. Currently, the property is zoned R1, this means a single family home could be erected on the 2.3 acre parcel.
Contacted to comment on a future meeting between all concerned parties, Myhill-Jones declined, saying it was an issue between BCR, the VOP and the residents of Meadow Lanes.
