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Ticket and Tow Starts in Kelvin Grove - July 31!!!

Written by Anne Page, Administrative Assistant

Friday, 07 August 2009

A reminder to residents to display your resident parking permit clearly in your vehicle if you park in lower Kelvin Grove. The Village has contracted with Mitchell's Towing to tow anyone illegally parked in the area. Towed cars will be taken to North Vancouver. Nobody wants this to happen to our own residents, but it may, if your vehicle does not have a resident parking permit prominently displayed.

Legal "resident parking" spots in the parking lot at Kelvin Grove include all of the parking spots on the west (ocean) side, which is most of the parking lot. Also please be aware of the new "handicapped parking only" spot nearest to Tidewater.

Towing in lower Kelvin Grove is part of a "get tough" policy aimed at calming the problems created by a growing number of youthful visitors from outside Lions Bay who park in the area and walk illegally along the railway tracks to access a cliff jump some way out of the Village. The Village is working with CN and the RCMP to deal with the problems this site creates.

Council will be closely monitoring the impact of the new parking initiatives.

Comments (8) >>

Dave Hamlin said:

What is this? The Village of Lions Bay has created or amended their "get tough" bylaws in a way that no other Canadian is allowed to do! Lions Bay must be something special. Did Lions Bay recently separate from Canada becoming it’s own country?

I appreciate the challenges and headaches associated with loud drunken people trespassing on the railroad, thus being a public nuisance. But for goodness sake, deal with the problem at hand. Don't pass sweeping illegal bylaws that are targeted at everyone but the Lions Bay residents. Are drunken teenage Lions Bay residents allowed to perpetuate the identified problem or is it just limited to drunken non-residents?

Everything below the high tide line is federal. Not provincial, not municipal and not private. The new Parks Regulation Bylaw 12.1 states that no one other than Lions Bay residents may scuba dive at Kelvin Grove. Curious on how do you intend to explain this in court?

The Traffic and Parking Bylaw 10(h) is geared directly toward keeping non-Lions Bay residents out. Did anyone read Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms prior to passing this bylaw or did it just seem like a good idea at the time? My understanding is that every other law passed in Canada, including all federal laws, must be in full compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. What makes the Village of Lions Bay believe they are somehow exempt?

I wonder how the eyes of the Supreme Court of Canada would look on these recent additions and changes to the Lions Bay bylaws, and what subsequent civil liability would then be assessed to The Village of Lions Bay for violating every Canadian’s basic rights.

Yes, I am biased. I am a fully grown, middle-aged, responsible scuba diver and I love to dive at the beautiful Kelvin Grove. I am a Canadian born resident of Squamish, British Columbia. I don’t get drunk and loud when I scuba dive, when I’m at Kelvin Grove or at all for that matter. I am respectful of our beautiful environment and pick up the garbage left behind by others. I am respectful of my neighbors at home and have the same consideration whenever I’m in someone else’s neighborhood. I do not trespass or walk on railroad tracks because not only is it dangerous, but it’s trespassing. I do not jump off of cliffs that are on anyone’s private property because that it also trespassing and I don’t like it when unannounced people walk through my property either especially, if they’re drunk.

So why are these new and amended bylaws targeted at me?

August 17, 2009

Considerate scuba diver said:

Hello,
Do you know if anyone has tiny place I could rent in Lions Bay so that I may be considered a "Lions Bay resident"? Or is there an application process to see if I may be suitable "Lions Bay resident"?
I scuba dive as a hobby and really enjoy diving at Kelvin Grove. But from the bylaws that were recently implemented, it's clear that I must be part of the elite Lions Bay residents club if I am going to be allowed to continue with my highly offensive hobby of scuba diving.
So my plan is to rent a little place in Lions Bay to call home (Of course I'll have stay in the city during the week for my work). Once I'm part of the Lions Bay residents club, I can scuba dive to my heart's content at Kelvin Grove with all my "guests" (aka scuba diving buddies) and fill up the parking lots with their cars.

August 18, 2009

Alan Wong said:

To the Mayor and Councillors of Lions Bay,

I am appalled by the new bylaw. Not because I am a scuba diver, but because of the sweeping attack on a group of people doing a specific activity. Your office states that the bylaw is designed to calm youthful visitors who walk illegally along the railroad tracks. Well if that act is already illegal, why do you need a new bylaw? Secondly, why is the bylaw silent about walking on the railroad tracks, but goes on to single out scuba divers? Third, 99% of divers are adults, and the other 1% who are minors are certified and must dive with their parents and/or guardians. Of all the divers I know, none of them have ever walked on the railroad tracks and jumped off a cliff. Fourth, scuba divers are not the ones making the noise. Some of us drop off our gear, and then pay the parking permit fees which I assume provides financial means to maintain the park, and move our vehicles up to the parking lot. All the times that I have been there, I have had friendly inter-changes with local residents. I fail to see how carrying scuba diving equipment to the high water line is causing Lions Bay residents distress.

Furthermore, how does Lions Bay have the authority to single out an activity? Does this mean one can free dive, snorkel, kayak, etc? If you single out scuba divers, does Lions Bay have the authority to issue another bylaw singling out people by race, religion, sex?
So I assume that divers who take a boat and dive the wall and do not go on shore would not be in contravention of this archaic bylaw?
I would appreciate the rationale for the exclusion of carrying scuba diving equipment to the high water line, and why the Council is maligning scuba divers. I would also love to know how the Supreme Court would rule on this malicous and unjust bylaw. I guess we need a test case.

August 19, 2009

Eugene said:

Fully support Dave Hamlin. I am responsible scuba diver too. Not born in BC, nor in Canada, but love this place and call it my country now.

This bylaw and new parking regulations are discriminative and offensive for non-residents, who wants to visit this park and scuba dive there.

We (scuba divers) do not have too much easily accessible places for our sport around Vancouver and Kelvin Grove is a definitely one of the best.

I also do respect all federal and local laws and I ready to pay for parking - but please cancel this scuba diving restriction and make paying for public parking convenient for visitors - i.e. install a simple tickets vending machine, set a reasonable price and that's it.

Going to local marina to pay for parking is just silly...The whole point of this regulation is to make visiting of park INCONVENIENT for non-residents.

August 20, 2009

Gene Kruper said:

To other readers of this blog, the village has amended it's bylaws restricting scuba diving in Kelvin Grove park to residents and their guests, however, Scuba Diving is something you do in water and not on dry land.

It is unfortunate the village of Lions Bay has restricted scuba diving in areas in which is has no jurisdiction.

It would also be unfortunate if other members of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities were to also pass bylaws restricting access to their parks.

There is also a question if this bylaw is contrary to the Section 8 of BC Human Rights code [Discrimination in accommodation, service and facility]

http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/freeside/-- H --/Human Rights Code RSBC 1996 c. 210/00_96210_01.xml#section8

August 21, 2009

Dave Hamlin said:

Please read the whole of the Community Charter:
http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/freeside/-- C --/Community Charter SBC 2003 c. 26/00_Act/03026_00.htm

Please amend all of the Lions Bay bylaws to be in compliance. Just like every other law and act, there are limits to what may or may not be done. The Village of Lions Bay must read beyond the portions of the Community Charter that are in their favor (Section smilies/cool.gif

and recoginze that there are also limitations placed on the respective municipalities, including Lions Bay. It's only common sense.

Section 8 of the Community Charter allows a municipality to create their own bylaws.
The whole of Division 2 of the Community Charter explains that the bylaws must be in compliance with all Provincial Acts. All Provincial Acts must be in complaince with all Federal Acts.
Section 269 of the Community Charter explains that a municipality must arrange for a court date for any person that wishes to dispute a bylaw ticket. To date, I know that this Section has been completely ignored.

Do you think this may quickly turn into a class-action lawsuit?

August 22, 2009

Dave Hamlin said:

Ms Akerhielm and Ms Page,

I am relieved to hear that The Village of Lions Bay recognizes that they do not have the authority control the foreshore or ocean.

Therefore, you should also hopefully agree that Section 14.1 of the Lions Bay Park Regulation Bylaw has been written unlawfully.

My recommendation is that The Village of Lions Bay bylaws are all temporarily suspended until they have been thoroughly reviewed by a person (lawyer) who is well practiced in this field.

From recent discussions with the scuba diving community, there appears to be consensus that the divers want to work with The Village of Lions Bay to remedy the concerns of the locals. Some suggestions have been for the scuba divers to help add change room extensions onto the existing bathrooms, and/or a "blind" in the parking lot. Another suggestion was to install a donation box where anyone, including the divers, may voluntarily contribute financially to make these improvements to your Park.

I'm sure more mutually beneficial suggestions will follow if there is some friendly give and take on both sides.

August 24, 2009

novalla tulloch said:

i am soo disapointed that people in vancouver would do something like this. i personally would have love to dive in lions bay becouse from what i know it has some of the best dive in the area. you are pretty much putting prejudice on us. i cant think of one of my fellow divers that would desrespect the area i also know that we care soo much for the aquadic environment that we do all in our power to help. how could you not whant the in your area?

i wiah with all my heart that you would reconsider and let diver see the beautiful aquadic the you have there.

this it unfair.

August 26, 2009

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Dave Hamlin said:

Considerate scuba diver said:

Alan Wong said:

Eugene said:

Gene Kruper said:

Dave Hamlin said:

Dave Hamlin said:

novalla tulloch said:

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