An oceanfront lodge is now permanently closed for weddings and retreats, after a B.C. Supreme Court ruling banning large-scale commercial events on the property south of downtown Ucluelet.
The November 2022 ruling by Justice David Crerar comes in response to a petition by neighbours of The Lodge at Terrace Beach asking the court to enforce the building scheme governing the subdivision, which only permits the building of single-family dwellings.
The ruling allows the lodge owners to continue to offer commercial tourist accommodation in eight guest suites on the top two floors of the lodge and in three cabins with a full-time resident manager on site.
But it bans weddings, reunions, conventions or retreats after March 24. It also requires the lodge owners to carry out its activities in a manner consistent with single-family residential use, such as minimizing noise.
The trial, which took place in Vancouver in April, heard that when Ronald Clayton and Gordon Elliott bought lot 35 in 2012, a small guest house called the Rainforest Beach Lodge was on the property.
Although it had 12 bedrooms, only four suites were finished. In mid-to-late 2012, the owners renovated and 11 guest rooms at the lodge were finished.
In 2016, Clayton and Elliott also bought Lot 37, which is undeveloped and forested.
Court also heard that two adjacent properties, outside the building scheme, are owned by companies affiliated with the owners. The first — The Cabins property — is a large property to the southeast with 11 cabins, a six-plex condominium and a check-in centre.
The second is across the road at Spring Cove.
Some time after 2012, the owners started to market the three properties and to promote “The Cabins At Terrace Beach” for weddings and group getaways for up to 60 people, “regardless of whether the attendees were staying at Lot 35 properties, or The Cabins or the Spring Cove properties.”
The petitioners and other neighbours complained that increased activity at the lodge was ruining their quiet enjoyment of the subdivision and their properties. They complained of late-night and early-morning parties, inebriation, illegal fires, cigarette smells, fireworks and firecrackers, loud music, litter, property damage, yelling, vomiting, human and canine feces and trespassing. They also complained of increased traffic and guests parking on Reef Point Road.
The petitioners also complained that there was no onsite manager and accommodations at the lodge have become “unsupervised, self-catered units.” In response, the owners replied that they are required to have on-site security for weddings and other large gatherings.
Court also heard that the District of Ucluelet adopted a bylaw in February 2004 changing the zoning of Lot 35 from single family residential to guest house. Then in April 2021, the district rezoned Lot 35 and Lot 37 to tourist commercial.
In exchange for the upzoning, the lodge owners gave the district statutory rights of way for trails to be built on lots 35 and 37 which would give the public access to North Terrace Beach.
Neighbours opposed the rezoning application in letters and at a public hearing, court heard. Then, in August 2021, the district permitted reduced setbacks and approved the construction of 13 new motel cabins on the affiliated property, The Cabins.
The judge found the lodge accommodates up to 42 guests and the frequency of large events has increased. The events bring many guests, cars and trucks bringing and pickup up chairs and other supplies for the events, he said. Crerar also found all three properties operate together as a resort, with the lodge as the natural focal point for large gatherings.
He found “ample evidence of disruption,” such as visitors knocking on neighbours’ doors asking for directions or asking for toilet paper and sheets.
One guest walked into a neighbour’s house without knocking, suitcase in hand, expecting to check in, the judge noted. Another guest used a neighbour’s fire pit, thinking it was lodge property.
Crerar granted the injunction banning large-scale commercial events, but delayed it for four months, to prevent disruption to future guests who had booked an event at the lodge. The injunction also ordered that any development on Lot 37 comply with the building scheme. “More specifically, no staff housing or other housing beyond a single-family residential house may be constructed,” said Crerar.
The lodge's owners could not be reached for comment.
