Langford staff will be exploring options to restore public access to a trail at Bear Mountain Resort that connects to Mount Finlayson after a unanimous council vote.
Councillors Keith Yacucha and Kimberley Guiry brought forward a motion Monday night to secure public access after Ecoasis, which owns the private lands at Bear Mountain, increased enforcement of a $45 daily fee and waiver requirement for non-residents to use its trails.
The stepped-up enforcement irked non-residents who want to use a portion of trail that connects to Goldstream Provincial Park and cuts the hike to the peak of Mount Finlayson in half.
Yacucha said he has also heard from many residents at Bear Mountain who are upset that the move makes them appear elitist. “I’m hoping we don’t have to go down extreme routes, but from what we’ve heard from residents of Langford is they’re expecting access to the outdoors at their doorstep, and we’re looking to make that happen,” said Yacucha.
Councillors voted to direct staff to consider all legal options, including expropriation, to secure public access to private lands known as 1270 Bear Mountain Parkway by way of a statutory right of way over portions of the strata road known as Academy Way and the Bear Mountain Golf Course.
The motion directs staff to work with the District of Highlands to see if it would be willing to secure access to the adjacent lands north of 1270 Bear Mountain Parkway.
Staff will prepare a report on how to move forward with attempts to secure access.
“My hope is that between city staff and the owners of Ecoasis is that we can work on a partnership and work out an agreement that re-establishes public access,” Yacucha said. “And that we don’t have to explore any nuclear options.”
Yacucha said bringing the motion forward was about ensuring equitable access to the provincial park and removing financial barriers to access the outdoors.
“The public has been accessing it for years, and to throw out that you now need to pay $45 to cross 100 metres of private property just seemed a little bit outrageous,” he said.
Ecoasis, which has about 500 acres of golf courses and trails, started charging a $45 day-pass fee and requiring a signed insurance waiver for any non-residents nearly two years ago for golfing and use of its activity centre. The requirement was added for trails last June, and enforcement was increased this spring.
Ecoasis did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The company’s chief executive, Dan Matthews, has previously said Ecoasis needed to add the trails to the resort pass system to mitigate legal risks and to follow best practices required by its insurance company.
Those wishing to hike Mount Finlayson from Victoria can drive about seven kilometres past the highway exit to Bear Mountain to reach Goldstream Provincial Park instead and take a longer and steeper route to the peak.
