A huge chunk of land stretching from the Sooke Potholes to beyond Jordan River is back on the market after a developer let his conditional agreement to buy the property expire.
Ender Ilkay had sought to purchase more than 2,500 hectares of former tree farm licence land from Western Forest Products, but will only finalize the deal on 250 hectares above the Juan de Fuca trail.
Duncan Kerr, chief operations officer for the forest company, would not identify potential buyers or say what uses are being considered for the waterfront and recreational land, which includes the Jordan River townsite and the area adjacent to Sooke Potholes Provincial Park.
"We're looking at all possibilities. We're happy to talk to any interested parties and several have come forward," Kerr said.
A 120-hectare minimum lot size remains in place while a legal battle is waged over the future of the land. The Capital Regional District had sought to zone the land to prevent dense development, blocking Ilkay's plans for a community at Jordan River. But CRD zoning bylaws were struck down by the B.C. Supreme Court. An appeal of the ruling will be heard in June.
Sale of the land was made possible when the province granted Western Forest Products permission to remove 28,000 hectares of private land from three Vancouver Island tree farm licences, prompting outrage from some community members, who complained about lack of consultation.
Bob Lapham, CRD general manager of planning, said the district has discussed with the province significant areas it wants protected, including the area around Jordan River and Sandcut Beach -- needed to complete the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail -- the area adjacent to the Sooke Potholes and the upper part of Muir Creek.
The Dogwood Initiative, a Victoria-based environmental group, and ad hoc Jordan River Steering Committee, which have led the fight against development of the area, say they are sensing a shift in government attitude.
The steering committee has proposed that half the land, including all the waterfront, should become the Stan Hagen Wild Coast provincial park. Maurita Prato, Dogwood forest campaigner, said after a meeting with Forests Minister Pat Bell she believes he will ask Western Forest Products to halt development plans until communities are consulted. Bell was not available for comment yesterday.
