Dear Member,

Your Board of Directors meet monthly to discuss ongoing issues that are important to members.

Numerous issues were also discussed at a Public Meeting on November 8, 2017.

The following are matters that your BMCA Board is currently addressing;

Residential parking on the streets of Bear Mountain;

  • Numerous residents have business interests that result in additional pressure on street parking.
  • Others have suites where sufficient parking is not made available in driveways.
  • Parking is a problem in areas where streets are narrow or have limited visibility.
  • Several regulatory requests by BMCA to the City over the past few years have been dealt with efficiently.
  • The City has been responsive to requests for restricted parking signage and in dealing with breaches of bylaws and enforcement.
  • Most recently, as a result of BMCA efforts, a number of areas on Players Drive, Nicklaus Drive and connecting streets have been designated as “limited” or “no parking”.
  • Please contact the City of Langford to report infractions or to report parking issues.  bylawenforcement@cityoflangford.ca
  • Alternatively, send comments to the BMCA at bmcommunityassociation@gmail.com

Dog Poop;

  • With the number of dogs at Bear Mountain, the waste can be a serious annoyance.
  • Although most owners pick up after their dogs, there are exceptions.
  • Small disposable bags are available for disposal at home or in street garbage cans.
  • Those who do not clean up, or drop used bags on the street or sidewalks, ruin it for all.
  • BMCA is lobbying the city for additional disposal bins.
  • How do we encourage remiss dog owners to be more considerate?
  • Please contact us with your comments or ideas at bmcommunityassociation@gmail.com

Light pollution in the Community;

  • We’ve had several discussions regarding excessive lighting in the community.
  • Many homes are built with a significant number of lights, which are sometimes kept on all evening and in some case all night.
  • Some residents are negatively affected by this.
  • Given the natural setting of our community, lighting management may be valued by the residents.
  • How does the BMCA create awareness and should we take on this issue?
  • Please contact us with your comments or ideas at  bmcommunityassociation@gmail.com

Illegal suites in Turnberry;

  • Suites are legal in most areas of Bear Mountain.
  • There are exceptions, where no secondary suites are allowed: examples – Hedgestone Lane, Turnberry (Champions Way, Court, Place) and the new development of Cypress (by the 4th and 5th holes on Mountain course).
  • At the Public Meeting, Turnberry residents voiced their concerns that several suites exist contrary to the conditions under which the lots were sold.
  • Although residents sent their complaints to the City, the matter has not been resolved.
  • At the public meeting, a representative of Ecoasis (the developer) concurred that the terms of agreement under which the lots were sold is not being sufficiently complied with.
  • BMCA has met with an Ecoasis representative to discuss the issue, who emphasized disappointment that non-compliant suites exist contrary to the specific zoning, and the condition under which construction plans were approved.
  • The City of Langford has a policy for reporting zoning infractions.
  • The City will investigate upon receiving two separate complaints from neighbors regarding the same property. The report should contain, the name and contact of the person reporting and a description and nature of the complaint.
  • The complaint should be sent to the By Law Enforcement Department at enforcement@cityoflangford.ca
  • The BMCA would be pleased to provide guidance in this process.

Restrictive Covenants on property titles;

  • Bear Mountain lots have restrictions limiting what is permitted and not permitted on our properties.
  • This is addressed in restrictive covenants and building restrictions which are registered on our property title.
  • Restrictions cover a broad spectrum of issues such as parking, landscaping, fencing, exterior finishes, land use, etc.
  • In the past, BMCA board members volunteered their time to notify residents regarding non-compliance, for example, the parking of larger trucks, motor homes and trailers in driveways (which is not allowed).
  • Another activity that is not permitted is the operation of a boarding house or rooming house.
  • It was reported at the Public Meeting that there are contraventions of this covenant on Champions Way.
  • The City, erringly in our opinion, licensed a Bed and Breakfast contrary to the restrictions.
  • Neighbors complained to both the home owner and the City.
  • The issue of Covenants is complicated in that a significant portion of Bear Mountain was developed by a developer no longer in business.
  • It is unclear who is responsible to take action when residents do not comply with the rules, causing a breach of covenant or contract.
  • The BMCA intends to review this issue more closely to demystify the process.
  • For the time being, neighbors can follow the same process as breaches of By Laws and Zoning (above). Report issues to the City Bylaw Enforcement Department at  bylawenforcement@cityoflangford.ca

Short term rentals;

  • This is a major issue at Bear Mountain and in other BC communities and beyond.
  • Short term rental has significantly grown in popularity since the advent of Air BnB.
  • Residents are generally opposed to short term rentals in the community for a number of reasons pertaining to quality of lifestyle, security and potential loss of privacy.
  • As reported by The City of Langford official at the Public Meeting, the City has no legislation in place to restrict short term vacation rentals.
  • In addition, the BC Residential Tenancy Act does not restrict length of residential tenancy terms and the Hotel Guest Registration Act does not rule over residences.
  • The BMCA Directors are discussing how or if to get involved on influencing change in short-term-rental legislation.

Comments and questions can be directed to the BMCA at bmcommunityassociation@gmail.com.

Please make note of our new e-mail above, which has replaced BMNCA@shaw.ca

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year

 

Sincerely,

Bear Mountain Community Association