Excavation of the natural boundary at 10393 Allbay Road
If you follow the This is Sidney Facebook page, you may already be aware of this issue due to a post by Peter Wainwright of Radio Sidney’s Peninsula Affairs program, but we know that many of you avoid social media and may not be aware of it.
The Town of Sidney has received an application to construct a seawall at 10393 Allbay Road but it is still under review by Town staff. The developer started work, stripping the vegetation and excavating the natural boundary apparently without authorization. The Town is investigating.
As we all know, 10393 Allbay Road is in the Roberts Bay Environmentally Sensitive Area and the Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Several of you are volunteers in Peninsula Streams Society’s Forage Fish Egg survey program and are aware that this location, probably because it had lots of vegetation and no seawall, has been the best spawning beach on Roberts Bay until all the construction started.
Sandra Foss, lead Forage Fish volunteer for the peninsula since 2021, wrote a feature article on Surf Smelt Beaches in the July issue of this newsletter about why these tiny fish are important to the whole ecosystem of the Salish Sea, feeding hundreds of bigger fish, birds and other animals. She also described what makes a good beach for fish to spawn, emphasizing the need for natural, native vegetation.
If you have lost your copy of that newsletter, we can resend it to you or you can find a very similar article by Sandra at https://peninsulastreams.
Seawalls have significant potential to cause environmental impacts. Sidney’s Official Community Plan (OCP) does not allow seawalls unless no other alternatives are available. Sidney’s Seawall Policy talks about retaining and restoring shoreline vegetation where possible and requires details of vegetation species that may be affected or removed, written confirmation from DFO that machinery will not adversely impact the beach environment and written permission from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations if any portion of a retaining wall is proposed to be located below the present natural boundary.
The neighbour who took the above photo and wrote to the Town about it said, “I have walked this beach for the 16 years I have lived on Allbay Road. This heavily vegetated location was one of the few places on Roberts Bay without a seawall. The bank appeared to be stabilized by the vegetation and showed no sign of erosion over the 16 years.
This image of this shoreline was taken in August 2022 by Mitch Miller for The Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Resilient Coasts for Salmon project.
Peninsula Streams (Ian Bruce) has reported this incident to DFO who are investigating. A Natural Resource Violation Report has been submitted to BC’s Natural Resource Violation Reporting line.
The Radio Sidney Facebook post is generating a lot of discussion, some of which illustrates why so many of us prefer to avoid social media.
On a different note, there is a comment by Scott Davies, the applicant clarifying that they hold a valid Heritage Alteration Permit and no seawall construction has taken place. “The only work undertaken so far has been the clearing of brush along the bank so that our geotechnical engineer could safely assess the slope and prepare the required design specifications for a future seawall. Once the design was complete, we submitted a formal permit application for the seawall which remains under review. No construction or installation will occur until all approvals are in place. We respect and understand the community’s concerns and I want to reassure everyone that we are following the proper process. Our objective is to stabilize the shoreline in a safe, responsible and fully compliant manner.”
Radio Sidney will continue to follow this story and provide updates.
All Buffleheads Day Celebration
Join us and Friends of Shoal Harbour at the Ardwell Ave beach access on Saturday October 18 to celebrate the return of the punctual Bufflehead ducks!
Their reputation for punctuality is based on first arrivals almost invariably landing in Roberts Bay on October 15 but this year Kerry Finley, who has studied them for decades, notes that early snow storms and La Nina conditions in the forecast for their summer home range may signal an earlier or later arrival. He believes we could see the first few Buffleheads as early as this week and major numbers by Thanksgiving.
In any case, come out on the 18th to learn more about the elegant but tough little ducks on Sidney’s Coat of Arms who fly over the Coast Mountains at night, riding the winds to return to our sheltered waters each fall. See the attached poster.
The Aquanuts, who swim year-round, are planning a swim at the Bowden beach access on the north side of the bay in association with the celebration. More information about the Aquanuts on Facebook.
Interview with Michael Bissonette, author of Decline of the Mermaid Creek Salt Marsh and the Promise of the BC Coastal Marine Strategy
In August, we wrote about this case study by West Coast Environmental Law. You can hear Radio Sidney’s Peninsula Affairs’ interview with the author, here: https://soundcloud.com/user-595262273/s5e10-michael-bissonnette It contains information about West Coast Environmental Law, how Mr Bissonette approached the legal case study, and the next steps to implement the BC Coastal Marine Strategy.
Watch for Shorebirds
Are you excited about the return of the winter birds this month? Some wigeons have already been seen in the area and the buffleheads will start arriving soon. In the meantime, there is a small group of Greater or Lesser Yellowlegs (they are hard to tell apart) who were seen at about 5 pm today near the Bowden Road beach access. These birds are unusual in Roberts Bay. For more information
Plovers, killdeers, and sandpipers are also foraging frequently along the beach these days. They are so well camouflaged that it is easy to overlook them if you aren’t watching carefully. They fly off as you approach, only to land a few meters along the beach.
Most of these birds are stopping here to rest and feed before continuing their migration further south for the winter. We can help them by trying to avoid disturbing or startling them. The PDF about BC Shorebirds is helpful for identification and understanding. https://www.birdscanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Shorebirds.pdf
Happy Thanksgiving! We hope to see you at the Bufflehead Celebration October 18.
As always, we welcome your comments and feedback about this newsletter or anything related to Roberts Bay. Simply reply to this newsletter or write to us at robertsbayres@gmail.com.
Roberts Bay Residents
Jocelyn Gifford, Communications
