Bob Papau, co-owner of the seven Shoal Bay Properties lots, expects a settlement soon in the lawsuit over boat access
By Newsdesk
The seven waterfront lots of Shoal Bay Properties between The George site and Gibsons Marina are now an active real estate listing with an asking price of $8.9 million.
Bob Papau, one of the owners of the 2.3-acre property, said Friday that a settlement has been reached in principle with all parties in a multi-party lawsuit over boat access. “There are no final drafts yet, but I expect them to be forthcoming,” he said.
He would not disclose details of the settlement.
In July 2015, Shoal Bay Properties filed a lawsuit against the town, the ministry, the province of British Columbia, and Marina Hotel Holdings Ltd., a Klaus Fuerniss enterprise.
Shoal Bay Properties, a company registered as 324383 Ltd. in Richmond, claimed its rights to deep-water access had been interfered with by the layout and water-lot boundaries of Gibsons Marina and the George development. The company sought boat moorage for a possible condo development.
The water in front of the properties belongs to the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, which leases it to the town. The town has subleased it to Gibsons Marina.
In 2015, Shoal Bay Properties president Chris O’Toole said his company had been asking the ministry and the town for at least three years to have its riparian rights of access respected. Riparian rights ensure owners of waterfront property access along all points of the natural foreshore of their property to deep water at any time, including low tide.
The lawsuit had a court date in April 2018, but on Friday, The Coast Clarion could no longer find it in the court schedule.
The head line will read.”the plaintif settled out of court for an undisclosed amount”.Follow the money folks.