I'm sorry to say this but Peach Akerhielm is clearly over her depth and unfit to govern.
 
Visitor's ought to be as welcome on our beaches and in our neighbourhoods as they are at the Mayor's cafe and store. This incident over divers has made us look like petty, parochial idiots. Here we are hustling and bustling to look good before the world for the Olympics while we yield to a few yappers in big homes who have just discovered that living ON a beach means that you have to live WITH that beach.
 
"Loud voices have been raised" says our Councilor!
 
Indeed they have! In fact over and over and over again! The problem is that the council has listened to noise not facts; to self centred windbags; to NIMBYs of the worst kind. Show up week after week at Council complaining of defecating divers, vicious dogs and near nudity and Council will meekly obey.
 
I'm pleased that the councilor has dropped the defecating charge and reduced it to mere urinating! Where in the world has she been! Of course it's bad manners to pee where you might be seen but does that mean that all who dive must be restricted if not banned? This is the sort of mind that's running our village? 
 
The reasoning of Ms Peach is puerile. Lump in peeing divers with trespassers on the CN right-of-way and on private property and throw a few scary divers endangering themselves all into the same mix, cluck your tongue and cry out "Visitors. visitors'! The CN and private citizens can look after trespassers just as the rest of us do - or will our strata councils now be expecting one of our three (!!!) by-laws officers to patrol our parking lot and arrest the trespassers that use it as a short cut to the mayor's parking lot which, incidentally, has no parking limitations.
 
The attempted ban on divers succeeded one thing - it showed up our community as small town hicks before the rest of BC.
 
It's interesting to note that the first diver to accept my invitation to dive was faced by huffing and puffing Lions Bay-er who couldn't wait to tell him that he was delighted to have him as his personal guest!
 
I don't ask Councilor Peach to do any more than treat and welcome visitors just as we are treated when we use sea walls, creeks and parks in other communities.
 
This council has made us all look like fools - they should repeal their diving by law (which hasn't a prayer of standing up in court as they well know), apologize and vow to meet less since the fewer times these nincompoops meet, the better off we'll all be.
 
Sincerely,
 
Rafe Mair, citizen