Kelvin Grove Officially Off Limits

[Joe Cool]

I was curious as to what Betty Pratt-Johnson had to say about Lions Bay/Kelvin Grove in her book '151 Dives in the protected waters of Washington State and BC'. So, I looked it up and this is what I found:

"This beach park is signposted "Members Only, Lions Bay Beach Park". Divers who don't live in Lions Bay have been going there for many years with no problem. But if divers do not behave well or if the number of divers overwhelm the beach to the detriment of Lions Bay residents, someone might ask you if you are a resident of Lions Bay or ask you to leave.

Be aware: the beach is not privately owned below the high water mark - no beaches in BC are. But the village of Lions Bay does own the path of 100 paces and the 16 steps down to it, as well as the restroom in the beach park.

So, if the entry through the beach park becomes prohibited, charter out of Horseshoe Bay or Sunset Beach, or rent a boat and go north 5 nautical miles to Kelvin Grove."

It is interesting to know that she already had an inkling that this might happen. However, if what she said is true about no one owning the beach below the high water mark then the 'rent a boat' solution of hers seems like a good way around the by-law.

 

[Delta74]

this is total BS, would love to know the reasons for the closures, think there is any way we could have a nice official letter drawn up from our organization, saying there town has been choosen as the location of our gathering, in the past years our group of a 300 or so atendee's typically bring in a couple hundred thousand to the town thrue hotels, meals, rentals entertainment and the like, then the week before send a cancelation letter since they have banned scuba diving and closed the hiking trails?

I am almost tempted to go diving there just to see them try to stop me.

 

[DaleC]

Honey I'm home... :shocked2: Look what happens when I'm gone for a couple of days

As to why they are doing it, unfortunately it is just elitism. The properties in Lions bay are some of the richest around and the residents would prefer it to be a "closed gate" community if they could. Unfortunately they are also a powerful and vocal lobby group with residents from goverment, media, lawyers etc... Just imagine what restrictions you might place near your homes if you actually had the power to do so. I don't think asking nice would be of any use as they just don't want outsiders there. I also don't think being obnoxious would help either.

It would be interesting to locate the public access lanes and to figure out how/where to park legally (or arrange for drivers to drop divers off at those lanes) and to respectfully go and dive. No muss no fuss. They may object and try to enforce the bylaw but if the divers had the proper documentation prepared and acted intelligently the police would be hard pressed to "arrest" anybody. Particularily if the media were tipped to the "civil disobediance" beforehand. The media does like a good underdog story.
They have the power to make bylaws but most of the other residents in the lower mainland resent elitism and a well thought out protest might bring the issue out into the public arena in our favour. It certainly couldn't hurt. Most people view divers as pretty non intrusive so it could be a good guy bad guy story for the most part.
These are the people that orchistrated the highly publicized Eagles Bluff protests for the sea to sky hwy so I don't see why such tactics can't be used against them. Faced with the prospect of divers cutting through public access lanes near their homes they may wish to rethink allowing us to access the water through the park.

Just my thoughts.

 

[sunkmail]

this is total BS, would love to know the reasons for the closures, think there is any way we could have a nice official letter drawn up from our organization, saying there town has been choosen as the location of our gathering, in the past years our group of a 300 or so atendee's typically bring in a couple hundred thousand to the town thrue hotels, meals, rentals entertainment and the like, then the week before send a cancelation letter since they have banned scuba diving and closed the hiking trails?

I am almost tempted to go diving there just to see them try to stop me.

One problem ... Lions Bay doesn't have any hotels, food places, or anythign else like that. It's just a bunch of rich people's houses.

To be honest, I always thought they just called themselves a village because it was quaint. I thought they were part of West Vancouver

 

[Sintax604]

Honey I'm home... :shocked2: Look what happens when I'm gone for a couple of days

I was wondering when you'd show up...

Very insightful as always. I'll try and do some poking around for access lanes this weekend and maybe we can have us a good ol' scubaboard meet and greet out there in the next couple weeks. Respectfully, of course.

 

[sschlesi]

I was wondering when you'd show up...

Very insightful as always. I'll try and do some poking around for access lanes this weekend and maybe we can have us a good ol' scubaboard meet and greet out there in the next couple weeks. Respectfully, of course.

Take a look at the map that swankenstein posted, it shows the access lanes. There are only a few as most of Lions Bay is not directly on the water. There is nothing that will reasonably allow you to swim to Kelvin Grove. The ones that do exist, don't look very promising for diving, Looking at maps of the area, I suspect the diving off of Brunswick Beach Road will be better than off Lions Bay Road.

 

[Slamfire]

:redhot::splat:

 

[CapitanBlack]

If all divers who loves the Kelvin Groove would come over there same day and same time - those "elite" guys would quickly understand that it's better being a friends with us, but not enemies... So far I know, bikers do such "silent" protests actions - why we can't?

Just come to their parking, have coffee, talk about diving, meet old friends.. have some fun in other words, but stay reasonable quiet and calm and do not pay ANY attention to the locals...

What the local police does in such cases? Will try to arrest everyone? Start shooting??

 

[Wetsuit 4 life]

have a Scuba Board BBQ

 

[Sintax604]

So, I [-] was bored at work today[/-] had a bit of free time so I wrote up a letter and sent it to the ruling body of Lions Bay.

Maybe if a bunch of us voice our concerns, people will listen. I'm also considering sending a copy to CBC just to see if they will get interested. Think that would be a bad idea?

Here's the letter:

Attention Mayor and City Councilors of Lions Bay,

I am an avid SCUBA diver and I am writing to express my surprise and concern regarding the recent amendments to your Parks Use bylaws, which state: "Section 12.1 - No persons except residents of Lions Bay and their visitors may scuba dive at Kelvin Grove beach park. No persons may scuba dive at Lions Bay Beach Park."

Divers have been enjoying the use of Kelvin Grove Beach Park as an entry point for many years. This dive site (which is identified in several popular books and numerous web sites) is known for it's beautiful underwater topography which is teeming with marine life.

As our area is rated one of the best diving destinations in the world, Kelvin Grove attracts both local and international divers who are happy to pay the $8/day parking fee which is collected by Lions Bay Marina (and presumably used to maintain the park). Kelvin Grove Beach Park is an ideal dive site because in addition to a safe and easy water entry, the large (and usually empty) parking lot and public washroom are very convenient.

Generally speaking, divers are a good group of people. We are interested in learning about and observing what is found in our oceans and many divers actively work to protect this valuable ecosystem. Ongoing projects by the Vancouver Aquarium such as the Rockfish Abundance Survey (fish research | vanaqua.org) rely on local divers to help study changes in our marine ecosystem. Additionally, I personally know many divers who fill their pockets with garbage, discarded fishing line and other harmful objects that are found underwater and dispose of them properly on the surface.

I am unsure of what prompted this new bylaw, but many local communities have decided to live in harmony with divers. Some dive sites (notably the Lookout Point dive in West Vancouver) have signs clearly stating rules for the site (no changing clothing in public view, be respectful of residents by not purging tanks/regulators at night, etc.) as well as helpful tips for diving safely. Some communities even go so far as to provide small areas designated for donning scuba gear with a bench to rest our equipment.

The local dive community would be very happy to discuss mutually agreeable options that will ensure that Kelvin Grove Beach Park can be enjoyed by residents and divers alike.

Please let me know how to get started on officially recommending a change in this bylaw. It would also be helpful to know your reason for amending the bylaw so steps can be taken to prevent any trouble in the future.

Thank you for reading, and your consideration.

Sent to: admin@lionsbay.ca, office@village.lions-bay.bc.ca