Editor:
About a year ago, I came to the Interior News office to complain to the editor of that era about the abundant coverage given to the Smithers Motocross Association (SMXA).
The main grounds for my complaint were that motocross is an illegal use of the land base where the SMXA operates and the noise from illegal motocross events is a nuisance for residents up to three kilometres away.
Since then, the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako has used informal means to encourage the owner of the property where the track is situated to apply for rezoning (Motocross in violation of the zoning bylaw is not the only violation taking place on that property, but it is probably the most serious).
At the same time, the RDBN is moving through a slow, formal enforcement process.
To date, the property owner hasn’t indicated he is prepared to apply for rezoning, which would give local residents an opportunity to express their views about the desirability of motocross in the Donaldson Road area.
On the contrary, the SMXA continues holding noisy events in blatant disregard for the law and neighbouring public.
In fact, the property owner seems to be trying to pre-empt the result of any rezoning process, or to bring about a failure by the RDBN to enforce its own bylaws by encouraging the SMXA to build a constituency in favour of motocross on Donaldson Road.
By providing extensive, highly favourable coverage to the SMXA, the Interior News is supporting illegal land use and doing great harm to the law-abiding residents and businesses within hearing range of the SMXA track.
Those of us who are suffering from this monstrous noise are outraged that a community newspaper would promote such antisocial behaviour.
Consequently, we would like you to know that if the Interior News persists in this kind of sloppy and unethical journalism, we will complain to the B.C. Press Council.
For verification of the statements I make in this letter about land use, zoning, and even the term “illegal,” I encourage you to obtain the relevant documents from the RDBN.
I did, through Freedom of Information, and I am not a reporter.
Ray Chipeniuk
Smithers