West Vancouver council approves sale of public beach access to private buyer
Buyer says they will allow access until new trail is built, after thousands sign petition against sale
Council in West Vancouver, B.C., voted Monday to move ahead with the sale of a beachfront property that includes a century-old public path leading to a popular beach.
The path to Altamont Beach at the bottom of 30th Street, adjacent to a property at 3000 Park Lane, is now set to become private property after the district voted to package it with a municipally owned lot in order to incentivize its sale for over $6.5 million.
But as part of an amended motion that was passed on Monday, the buyer of the property says it will work with the district to add a new path to the east of the current one, and will allow the public to use the current trail until construction on a house is completed.
A report to council notes that the concerns voiced by many residents over the loss of the path influenced the buyer's decision, which was supported by West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager and a majority of council.
Sager said the public will have significant input into the design of the new path, which will be completed within two years, and that the property buyer would construct most of the new trail.
A council meeting Monday was packed with residents — including former mayor Michael Smith — who came out in opposition to the council's plans.
Over 2,000 people signed an online petition against the sale of the path, which first came to light in July.
"It's most definitely a cherished path ... people would be very, very sad to see the trees clear cut and removed in favour of private property development," local resident Sydney Sharpe told CBC News before the meeting.
Site repossessed
Sager previously told CBC News that the site's former owner illegally built their home beyond the property line onto a road end. West Vancouver's previous council took the owner to court and repossessed the land, then put it up for sale.
"It's been on the market for about a year, and we got very low offers, and then somebody came in and said, if you will sell us the rest of the unopened road allowance, we'll pay it," Sager previously said.
Realtor Holly Calderwood has listed the property on her website as "sold (pending)" for just under $7 million.
Council first voted in favour of closing the public beach access at a meeting on July 22, which prompted outrage from locals.
Some councillors who voted in favour of the amended motion said they only did so due to the promise of the new trail.
"Over the last three months, this council has heard the community and we have tried to come up with a compromise that is going to be the best for the community moving forward," said Coun. Scott Snider.
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With files from Jon Hernandez