Trespass signage at 4439 Blenkinsop Rd

Monday April 20, 2009 afternoon I put up a pup tent atop my property as a marker for those looking at my property for sale to get an idea of what it is they are buying.

Tuesday my tent, lawn chair and foamy mattress were stolen from the middle of our back yard at 4439 Blenkinsop Rd presumably by users of Mount Douglas Park who trespass on our private property daily. This has been a continually growing problem that has occurred more than ten years, possibly 25.Or more.

 Unauthorized trails were created by trespassers/users of Mt Doug not the Harwood family.

Trails are well used across the Eastern 2.5 acres and used less as we get closer to Blenkinsop Rd.

We pay $4500 a year for land taxes and half our land is taken over by users of Mount Douglas Park.

Earth Day 2009 signs were once again erected across the rear half of the property at 4439 Blenkinsop currently owned by the Harwood family.

This first sign was posted across the trail that comes from Pearce Crescent and enters our land West of the Craig that holds water and along the Northern property line. Approximately 2/3 way back on property line from Road on North side. You are looking south.

Trail is to Right hand side of tree/sign and was blocked off with branches and such. Trail heads west.

~100' away I placed  a sign facing SE along the Northern line between sign 1 and the water collection area in acre 4.

Trail heading West was blocked with branches.

< 100' South from sign 2 I posted another sign as seen facing Norwest. Water collects East of these signs.

Past the water pond/swamp area and at the SE corner of 4439 and the NE corner of 4417 I placed a fourth sign.

 The rock pile is the corner marker from 1956.

Travelling North across the property at 4439 towards the east upper side of where the pond is I placed a fifth sign. Looking West the water is just past this sign and below the bluff and trees. There is a major trail intersection here where trails from the Park enter from both Northern and Southern property lines and heads west out onto the plateau on other side of trees shown at Right of pic.

Now I head East and towards the high NE marker of 4439 where there is another major juncture in the trail system.

 One trail pretty much carries the property line along the Northern edge while another trail "T"s onto this E-W trail.

 I posted a sixth sign and blocked the trail with rocks.

The seventh sign was posted to the tree that marks the NE corner of 4439 just 100' from the Mount Douglas Trail that runs behind our property line.

The survey peg is circled for your convenience.

Next was to erect signs across the back width of the property. This eighth sign is < 100' from NE corner.

y Property runs on an angle here along the bluff from tree marker down to rock piles in Oak grove (sign 4 circled).

Critical to stopping the flow of traffic was to erect sign 9 across the heavily used trail across the fifth rear acre.

Wire was used to string the sign across trail. Rocks were used to block trail. Sign 4 and 8 are just outside the scope of view this shot provides.

Sign 5 is seen in background.

Signs 4 and 9

Running out of signs I had to use logs and branches to block this trail West towards Blenkinsop Rd.

Back on the plateau I erected my tent and posted sign 10. This is where a house would be built to achieve the million dollar view we are selling.

Someone stole my tent I put up Monday on Tuesday while I was working in my yard below. This is Wednesdays tent looking North over Cordova Bay.

    ONE WEEK LATER:

Today April 29th is the day the Mount Douglas Park Society get's together at McMorrans restaurant in Cordova Bay.

I suppose I should attend and make a noise about the trespassing that occurs daily on our land as emails seem to have done nothing. Not even a response towards any direction from any officials period.

 Friends of Mt Douglas Park have not responded to my requests for help in resolving the issues we are having with users of Mt Douglas Park trespassing on our land as users seem to think its all Parkland and of course its not.

 The NO TRESPASSING signs I posted last week have been removed all in the area where the water collects and the trees are presumably by users of Mt Doug trails. Another sign across trail between two NE and SE corners was moved and many of the rocks I placed on trails as blocks were removed.

 On Tuesday April 28th that was the state of affairs.

 Signs missing or moved and trails cleared of rocks used as blocks.

 I put rocks back and rewired the sign across SE trail and on NE side as well.

Wednesday April 29th I was working at Blenkinsop and my tent disappeared while I was in the yard.

I drove to Mercer trail head to see if anyone was loading my tent into their car, no.

Then I drove to bottom of Pearce cres to see what I could see and there was IRSU the Integrated Road Safety Unit doing radar on my street. I quickly told the officers that my tent was being stolen and I pointed to what looked like one person taking down my tent.

Then the officers told me it was two people.

 I was loaned a cell phone and reported to Saanich Police what was going on.

 On hold one officer tells me that its two Police Officers taking my tent down.

 I ask dispatch to tell the Officers to leave the tent and I am asked instead to go up to the tent.

 As I drive back to my home at 4439 where its 20 minute walk up there I see Police cars at my neighbours home.

 He tells me that the Police are up there taking down the tent and I tell him "It's my private property".

We both make the trail up to where the officers and tent are where I explain that this land is indeed private property and that we are having considerable trespass problems by the users of Mt Doug Park.

 The officers were genuinely surprised to learn that land is indeed private and not park. Everyone thinks the SW 3rd knoll of Mt Doug in the Valley is Park but it's Harwood Heights and Private Property.

Everyone apologised to everyone and we all left amicably, no harm no foul however the trespass issue still persists and it seems that neither Friends of Mt Douglas Park Society, nor Saanich Parks, nor Blenkinsop Valley Community Association are very interested in helping me resolve this issue quickly if at all.

Emails to these organizations have yielded nothing, pretty much a zero reply.

 While it has been an issue for 25 years the Harwood family again requests that users of Mt Douglas Park refrain from using our private property for any reason what so ever period.

The reason we do not use the land in past was for an animal sanctuary.

 Now users of Mt Douglas Park force the natural animal inhabitants further off the hill down towards our home, garden and road where they are often killed from this displacement.

The birds who use our tree's and land are scared off by those who trespass against us on our private land we pay large taxes on to own.

I am asking nicely and am willing to work out a solution at this time however it appears to me that I am lining up for a legal battle as I can not get Parks nor FMDPS nor BVCA to engage in a simple conversation on how this is to be addressed.* letters were sent to Planning officials Anne Topp and Russ Fusco as well as Mayor on May 14th again asking for direction on the trespass issue as Saanich declined our proposal of their purchase of our back four acres. Instead Saanich has offerd to buy 1.5 acres, however the trespass occurs on at least 3 acres. The trespass issue was not addressed when Saanich declined our offer. Letters were sent to Rae Ken Wayne Gerald as well as by law asking for direction as to address the trespass.

I did get an email back from by-law enforcement who deferred me to the Saanich Police whom I have called and am waiting a call back from.

The trespassing of the land at 4439 Blenkinsop Rd must stop and I offer 3 ways of reconciliation.

1) TAX REBATE. Half land is used by Parks these past five years so that's half back for sure for the past five years and for the ten prior years, another half off sounds about right. Rebate us half our taxes these past twenty years will wipe away any harm done to Harwood family for the Parks unauthorized use of 1/3 to 1/2 our land these past 25 years. That's probly $30,000 as a rough guesstimate today. And interest? This is an extremely cheap solution as to rent our land would be far in excess of $30K. $30K is $3/day for 30 years which is how long this has been an issue,

To rent 2 acres for 30 years how much do you think that would be? Far more than $30K. $30K is a reasonable #.

 To date May 14/09 I have not heard back from the Assessment Branch whom I called last Friday and was directed to write an email to Deputy Rick McMahon:

2) Parks erect a border marker or indicator between their public Parkland and the properties adjacent to 4411, 4417, 4439, 4459 and 4465 Blenkinsop Rd.

 Everyone of these property owners is being trespassed upon by users of Mt Douglas Park.When users are confronted they always point out lack of signage to which I reply call Saanich.

While we have not formally formed we may unite to resolve this issue for all. I have spoke to 3 of four neighbours.

The worst case of trespass occurs on our land at 4439 however 4465 also has some serious trespassing going on and 4417 also experiences users accessing my land through theirs.

I am not suggesting a fence insomuch as I am suggesting that Parks adequately mark it's perimeter.

If Park users can not respect the private lands as marked by perimeter markers possibly we would have to escalate efforts to curb the unauthorized use of our lands.

 This could be as simple as posts brightly coloured or signs erected saying Park Boundary.

Anything is better than the nothing we have right now. Those who trespass against us often say there is no Park signage so they thought this is public......

 To my knowledge Parks has offered nothing to resolve this issue for any of the property owners along this stretch of Park boundary.

Signs marking Park Boundary could easily be created and posted to ensure users knowledge of private and public property.

 Why has this never been done for any property owner along the Park boundary? What is the $5K 4439 paying yearly doing? Or the $10K 4417/11 pays? 65 and 59 must be paying the same 15K as well. That's $30K for garbage pickup.

Without Park perimeter signage users think private lands are public.

3) Parks buy us out of the back four acres of 4439 Blenkinsop Rd, releasing the Western acre and home to Ray Harwood.

We have had some discussion with Saanich on this however I still own it and nothing has been done to rectify the problems we face daily, in fact I can't even get a decent email suggesting we do X,Y or Z.

At over 75 days work on this project with letters out to heads of groups mentioned we are absolutely nowhere which means that if we can't get this resolved in at least one of the ways above the Harwood family is then forced into selling the entire five acre parcel with Ocean views and all.

As I would be forced out of the family home and property we would have to sell to someone who can build their Castle where my tent currently is atop the 3rd SW knoll of Mt Doug. It is the ONLY place you can build a Castle on land that just into Mount Douglas Park and achieves views over Victoria Harbour across Sooke hills and out over James Island to Vancouver North Shore Mountains.

 It absolutely is a million dollar view this property holds.

Help me bring this four acres into Parks releasing me from the taxation burden my family has suffered for decades on land that is completely inappropriate to be farmed or developed,

For decades we have been paying taxes on Parkland.

Let me have my family home, and Parks, park.

Thank you.

Ray Harwood

ViCatz@shaw.ca

www.classiccougar.net

Monday May 4 2009

Last week several signs went missing. Haven't been by in a few days to see what's missing now.

Below are pics of signs posted last week of April.

 Most are along the water collection area West of the line Parks adopted from Dennis line that I have declined due to the line collects 1/3 of our property however the trespass issue occurs on over half our property.

1st new sign where sign 2 was.

.Signs along western side of water area.

.Down in water area I have marked a couple trees for potential fence building.

.And on Western side South.

. Looking NW

. In the area where water collects I marked trees for fence along N property line.

. On the South side of water area a wired sign was placed across trail.

. At the area where Park users enter the water area from NE a sign was posted and a tree marked for fence potential.

. Here I am with my tent marker midpoint our property where your castle would be built.

. Pearce Crescent from Harwood Heights.

. Harwood Heights

. Back of Harwood Home at 4439 Blenkinsop Rd.

 Friday May 8th 2009,

Unable to sleep I placed a few emails and calls to Saanich Parks and Tax assessment office.

I also wrote Saanich and Parks advising them that as we have heard nothing from them we have to surmise they are just not interested in working out a solution for Parks, users of the Park and/or the Harwood family.

Over 70 days since I first offered Saanich an opportunity to move this land into Parks and to date neither a yeah or a nay.

As my property is abused daily it appears we may have to begin building a fence.

 Last week at the friends of Mt Douglas Park Society meeting our guest speaker was Corrie from Saanich Parks who after the meeting told me I can cut down three trees per acre per year no size no species restrictions I have made a call to Tax assessment branch briefly outlining that I am looking for a break as our land is taken over (1/2) unofficially by Parks and users of Mt Douglas Park.

Letters sent I am heading up to Blenkinsop to assess the situation today.-

Back from my assessment I have several signs down or moved during the first week/s of May.

-Here is how I find my signs

-Surveyor tape acre 4/5 SE near Lundeen side just E of crumpled sign above.

-SE corner sign is mid picture, below.

-above: Acre 4/5 sign just above pond area, NE

-below: Sign on acre 5 SE is removed and dropped. I find another sign moved from tree below here.

-NE Tree missing its sign, Rocks across trail.

-Saanich has declined our offer to move the rear four acres into Parks resolving the trespass issue, the tax issue creating true parkland that is not subsidized directly by our family.

 It is unjust that we pay private property taxes on land that the Public has taken over more than half of.

 Help us convince Saanich to move this four acres the SW knoll of Mount Douglas into Parks.

If we can not get it into Parks at fair market value the property will be sold to a developer who can build a castle atop the SW knoll on Harwood Heights.

After a long sabbatical I am back to report that both tents and tools were stolen.

My letter to Saanich Mayor and officials BCTax BVCA FMDPS yielded not a single response.

copied here:

In the "off" time we have been creating an access to top for quads 4x4s and mountain bikes.

This will enable better patrols and access for potential buyers.

 After this theft a large tarp was painted with PRIVATE PROPERTY and strapped across the midpoint frt knoll for all to see.

 Orange flagging tape was stretched across the mid N line and streamers tied to bushes.

Whoever comes next time will need some time to take my signs away which will be getting bigger soon.

So big it can't be carried away.