Columbia Shuswap Regional District board members were to consider a request to temporarily dispense with bylaw enforcement on two Salmon River Road properties at Thursday’s regular board meeting, held after press deadlines.
After having to cancel last year’s Summer Stomp, organizers are hoping to bring the longtime annual event back to Silver Creek from July 18 to 22.
Advised by the regional district they could no longer use their longtime venue, Silver Creek Community Park, organizers last year attempted unsuccessfully to get approval to hold the event on two private properties just north of the Silver Creek Store. This year, stomp organizers have entered into an agreement with two property owners about two kilometres south of the park.
In an April 2 letter to the board, stomp organizers Steve Hammer and Gord Erickson indicated they will operate within riparian rules, will advise surrounding neighbours of the event, will submit a parking, emergency and traffic safety plan to CSRD and other governing bodies on or before June 30.
They were asking CSRD to provide a temporary use permit and suspend bylaw enforcement on the two properties intended to be used for the stomp.
But CSRD Development Services planning assistant Dan Passmore says zoning in Salmon Valley Land Use bylaw 2500 does not permit commercial use, which organizers need in order to hold the event.
“We don’t have provisions within the bylaw for temporary use,” Passmore says. “If they’re going to use rural property for commercial purposes, it’s contrary to permitted use of bylaw, and therefore would be subject to bylaw enforcement should we receive a written complaint.”
Passmore says when CSRD reviewed the issue last year with regard to the two other properties, both within the Agricultural Land Reserve, part of the report to the board was the land-use issue.
“This time around, the property they’re proposing is partially in ALR, but they’re proposing the event be on the part that is non-ALR,” he says. “Last year’s report deals with a lot of the same issues only in this case it will be specific to this site.”
Calling the stomp a “non-event” until it receives approval, Hammer says negotiation and discussion has been held with Neskonlith band members with regard to property used for last year’s Sturgis North event and could be an option for the future.
But, he adds, Silver Creek is the preferred location for the event that is scheduled to run the same weekend as Sturgis North, which will take place at the Motoplex Speedway north of Vernon, and Armstrong Metalfest, billed as Western Canada’s largest metal music festival.
“The stomp has always been in Silver Creek and we just wanted to make sure it went again,” he says, noting the stomp has always run on the third weekend of July.
“It’s not only the ones that loved to go to the stomp that missed us, but also the charities that we contribute to dearly missed it last year.”
Hammer says the event has raised anywhere from $15,000 to $27,000. And while Shuswap Hospice has been a regular recipient, as has the Salmon Arm Elks who help out on the gate, others such as the SPCA, Silver Creek school and Silver Creek Recreation Society have also benefitted.
“The community of Silver Creek is 99 per cent behind holding the event there,” he says. “We’ve had lots of positive feedback; we got stacks and stacks of support letters that we delivered to Dan.”