Cool Underground Tunnel and Nanaimo's Old Mine Shafts

[keeha]

My first post was lost in the timeout. All I had saved was the large detailed part about vampires that I decided to cut out before attempting to post.

I've gone through similar although in Nanaimo and Vancouver. And my number one piece of advice is don't feed the vampires!

This first letter in gives no notice of mention of any particular violation. IMO its just to start the psychic dread and fear they feel paid by us to create and feeds them and you will make them very happy if you expose yourself in reply. Normally I always attempted to speak to any such letter writer before getting defensive, but it would seem your letter was written to preclude any quick solution that would be best for the taxpayers (and the waterway if the city actually was concerned about the environment in this case).

Doing it again, I would be clear I will not understand, until they are clear on what in particular they wish to enforce against me. Generally this takes a letter from a contracted Lawyer weeks or months later, but the predators will feed in the mean time off any attempted bargaining, and collect any pleading to use against you should it come to court. With your letter, my only question would be "what legislation requires that I "must" submit you a letter right now? I do not understand."

My guess (never having been to your property) would be they know they have a clear court case for say a 110 foot shed being 10 feet too big for not being permitted, but want to wreck a garden, and want you to offer them something in writing they can use in attempt to wreck a garden. They would need to be masochistic predators to take you to court and go public to kill a historic garden.

If the district wants one to stop work on something, they should put up a stop work order on what they want stopped.

My advice is don't respond until you are back and can see your property in case something was done on it after you last saw it.
On line take a few hours to copy and read the relevant code, don't try to find the angles right now, its too much wasted negative energy, just get familiar with it in case your realize you are rightly in violation of something and you wish to change it (is the mine shaft less than 10 square meters? as example). If not, you neatly file things and try to relax and live life as before the vampires attacked like this.

When back take pictures of your property.

Fix a few simple things (like any 10 square meters restriction) perhaps things like only cedar ties need to be used in the setback zoning? I've not had to research setback zoning, but perhaps a thing or two can improve the garden, for example are there clear restrictions on types of garden bed wood to be used in these areas?

Again try not to dwell (as I did) on the uncertainty and fear of the state saying its angry and will attack your property without telling you exactly why it is angry and what it will attack. Don't feed the vampires with to much excess lingering worry over the weeks or months this may play out until the district finally decides what it wants to predate, has a dull lawyer send you a letter, or has some good faith advice or order for the property.

Then when you get the lawyers letter you finally see their hand, and are in a position to agree to those demands (no court) or fight it.

Good luck Peter. If it seems the city is getting nitpicky about setback gardening, I can show you some horrendous septicfied setback new development destruction they have approved in our area recently.

[keeha]

My first post was lost in the timeout. All I had saved was the large detailed part about vampires that I decided to cut out before attempting to post.

I've gone through similar although in Nanaimo and Vancouver. And my number one piece of advice is don't feed the vampires!

This first letter in gives no notice of mention of any particular violation. IMO its just to start the psychic dread and fear they feel paid by us to create and feeds them and you will make them very happy if you expose yourself in reply. Normally I always attempted to speak to any such letter writer before getting defensive, but it would seem your letter was written to preclude any quick solution that would be best for the taxpayers (and the waterway if the city actually was concerned about the environment in this case).

Doing it again, I would be clear I will not understand, until they are clear on what in particular they wish to enforce against me. Generally this takes a letter from a contracted Lawyer weeks or months later, but the predators will feed in the mean time off any attempted bargaining, and collect any pleading to use against you should it come to court. With your letter, my only question would be "what legislation requires that I "must" submit you a letter right now? I do not understand."

My guess (never having been to your property) would be they know they have a clear court case for say a 110 foot shed being 10 feet too big for not being permitted, but want to wreck a garden, and want you to offer them something in writing they can use in attempt to wreck a garden. They would need to be masochistic predators to take you to court and go public to kill a historic garden.

If the district wants one to stop work on something, they should put up a stop work order on what they want stopped.

My advice is don't respond until you are back and can see your property in case something was done on it after you last saw it.
On line take a few hours to copy and read the relevant code, don't try to find the angles right now, its too much wasted negative energy, just get familiar with it in case your realize you are rightly in violation of something and you wish to change it (is the earth covered garden shed less than 10 square meters? as example). If not, you neatly file things and try to relax and live life as before the vampires attacked like this.

When back take pictures of your property.

Fix a few simple things (like any 10 square meters restriction) perhaps things like only cedar ties need to be used in the setback zoning? I've not had to research setback zoning, but perhaps a thing or two can improve the garden, for example are there clear restrictions on types of garden bed wood to be used in these areas?

Again try not to dwell (as I did) on the uncertainty and fear of the state saying its angry and will attack your property without telling you exactly why it is angry and what it will attack. Don't feed the vampires with to much excess lingering worry over the weeks or months this may play out until the district finally decides what it wants to predate, has a dull lawyer send you a letter, or has some good faith advice or order for the property.

Then when you get the lawyers letter you finally see their hand, and are in a position to agree to those demands (no court) or fight it.

Good luck Peter. If it seems the city is getting nitpicky about setback gardening, I can show you some horrendous septicfied setback new development destruction they have approved in our area recently.

[MDavis]

Any suggestions as to what to do about it?

Peter, I have never dealt with the RDN (hope I never have to!)

But i can't see too much difference between what you have done and someone else putting in a landscape design in their front yard. People do it all the time.

What's the difference between what you created and someone else putting in a load of home depot bought landscape ties, a gravel truck load of rock and a fake wishing well? Get my meaning? It's all just design and yard improvements.

It's not like any of it is functional. But the RDN may have a different point of view. Where they may get sticky is the filling in of any water course on your property. But that water course I saw in your photo looked like it was dug years ago with a backhoe, and is probably not natural to begin with.

[Tenspot]

Their letter wasn't signed. We need someone to villify on here.

[CHUBer]

It has taken some time to dig out this article I wrote back in 1977. I was a young reporter for the Free Press back then and this was one of my first features. I was fascinated that people used to walk under Nanaimo Harbour! Luckily I got to interview one of them. I wonder if anyone is still around town who walked the mine tunnel?

[Peter Roosen]

Peter, I have never dealt with the RDN (hope I never have to!)

But i can't see too much difference between what you have done and someone else putting in a landscape design in their front yard. People do it all the time.

What's the difference between what you created and someone else putting in a load of home depot bought landscape ties, a gravel truck load of rock and a fake wishing well? Get my meaning? It's all just design and yard improvements.

It's not like any of it is functional. But the RDN may have a different point of view. Where they may get sticky is the filling in of any water course on your property. But that water course I saw in your photo looked like it was dug years ago with a backhoe, and is probably not natural to begin with.

You are quite right about the early diggings. The irony is that there is no watercourse there using their definition in the regulations and the landscaping features they are now describing as a watercourse were ones that we put there some 35 years ago. The house is now therefore within their supposed setbacks so it seems that they are asking me to seek a variance to allow for that which was approved by them some time ago because a landscaping water feature was added by us after the house was built.

I'm chuckling as I write this. I have done this for my own enjoyment and it never was intended to be a museum. The moment I finish putting in a tour bus parking lot, gift shop, cafe, hire staff, start charging admission and obtain millions in annual operating grants from various levels of government will be soon enough for them to start complaining about it. I suppose that if that is in fact what happened in Duncan, they have a reasonable basis for complaining about these activities in Wellington. Where were they 35 years ago when the first rails got laid? Oh yes, Gwyneth has answered that - no Google Earth at that time

I'll toss a loonie into the wishing well (perhaps Mr. Brack) and see what happens.

[AceMcCool]

I like how the watercourse goes into the ditch... which follows the road down the hill. The city had to alter the original water path when the road was put in. Couldn't they easily just dig a ditch along the outside of the property and around the corner at the intersection to make it match up with the rest of the 'naturally' occurring watercourse?

There is actually a creek that runs through the property I rent and even though it has been clearly dug out with an excavator, I am sure if I tried to put a foot bridge across it and some one complained.. it would turn into a big issue. Even though the path was human excavated.

[MDavis]

You are quite right about the early diggings. The irony is that there is no watercourse there using their definition in the regulations and the landscaping features they are now describing as a watercourse were ones that we put there some 35 years ago. The house is now therefore within their supposed setbacks so it seems that they are asking me to seek a variance to allow for that which was approved by them some time ago because a landscaping water feature was added by us after the house was built.

I'm chuckling as I write this. I have done this for my own enjoyment and it never was intended to be a museum. The moment I finish putting in a tour bus parking lot, gift shop, cafe, hire staff, start charging admission and obtain millions in annual operating grants from various levels of government will be soon enough for them to start complaining about it. I suppose that if that is in fact what happened in Duncan, they have a reasonable basis for complaining about these activities in Wellington. Where were they 35 years ago when the first rails got laid? Oh yes, Gwyneth has answered that - no Google Earth at that time

I'll toss a loonie into the wishing well (perhaps Mr. Brack) and see what happens.

Perhaps if you can gather all your records together from the past years and show them to the RDN they might bugger off and leave you alone. An additional 'eye-witness' to events that have taken place there (like the fella who dug the trench many years back) may also help too.

I see nothing but really great things that you are creating on your property. It's pretty clear to me that you have put a lot of effort and love into these projects. They are landscape ideas.

Sheesh! I never knew the RDN could be so sticky. Perhaps they are trying to tie themselves closer to the city of Nanaimo and amalgamate

[Peter Roosen]

Their letter wasn't signed. We need someone to villify on here.

Okay, here is the second page with the signature. I wasn't going to post it but on second thought don't see why these public servants should not be named and held accountable.

[MDavis]

From one of many sites on coal.
http://www.ket.org/trips/coal/agsmm/agsmmhow.html


COAL: Ancient Gift Serving Modern Man
American Coal Foundation


How Coal Is Formed

Coal is called a fossil fuel because it was formed from the remains of vegetation that grew as long as 400 million years ago. It is often referred to as "buried sunshine," because the plants which formed coal captured energy from the sun through photosynthesis to create the compounds that make up plant tissues. The most important element in the plant material is carbon, which gives coal most of its energy.

Most of our coal was formed about 300 million years ago, when much of the earth was covered by steamy swamps. As plants and trees died, their remains sank to the bottom of the swampy areas, accumulating layer upon layer and eventually forming a soggy, dense material called peat.

Over long periods of time, the makeup of the earth's surface changed, and seas and great rivers caused deposits of sand, clay and other mineral matter to accumulate, burying the peat. Sandstone and other sedimentary rocks were formed, and the pressure caused by their weight squeezed water from the peat. Increasingly deeper burial and the heat associated with it gradually changed the material to coal. Scientists estimate that from 3 to 7 feet of compacted plant matter was required to form 1 foot of bituminous coal.

Coal formation is a continuing process (some of our newest coal is a mere 1 million years old). Today, in areas such as the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina and Virginia, the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia, and the Everglades in Florida, plant life decays and subsides, eventually to be covered by silts and sands and other matter. Perhaps millions of years from now, those areas will contain large coal beds.