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Community Profile - Point Roberts: The Ultimate Gated Community |
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Written On: September/October 2005 |
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Written By: Story and photos by Ron Dalby |
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Logically, this small point of land — a little less than 5 square miles — should be part of Canada. Pacts between nations, however, do not always make perfect sense.
The 1846 Treaty of Oregon between the United States and Great Britain, also known as the Treaty of Washington, is the culprit in this case. With an exception for parts of Vancouver Island, this treaty sets the boundary between the Oregon Territory and British Columbia as the 49th parallel of latitude. Perhaps, had the negotiators been more knowledgeable about the topography, Point Roberts would have been an exception to the 49th parallel designation, like Vancouver Island. But then, perhaps not.
The only way you can get to Point Roberts from any other place in the contiguous 48 states, without processing first through Canadian Customs and then later through U.S. Customs, is by boat or by landing a light airplane on a small grass strip. Boundary Bay, extending north of the 49th parallel west of coastal Blaine, Wash., isolates Point Roberts from the U.S. mainland.
Entering Canada at Blaine, it takes about 30 to 40 minutes to drive around Boundary Bay to the U.S. border at Point Roberts. Once on the tiny peninsula of land that is Point Roberts, it takes about 20 minutes to completely circumnavigate this small part of the United States if you stick to the speed limits. Total driving distance around the point is 10.3 miles. Driving around the peninsula, you'll soon realize there is no reason not to stick to the speed limits.
Spend a little time in Point Roberts and you'll quickly realize that it is as much a state of mind as it is a place. Nothing moves at breakneck speed. Local drivers spotting a lost dog in the middle of the road will stop, coax it to approach, and then inspect its collar so see if the owner can be identified. If the driver can identify the owner — the odds are good that he or she will know the person — the dog is then put in the car and taken home.
Jobs, too, have a certain laid-back structure. "Our biggest employers are the restaurants, taverns and marina," Chamber of Commerce President Terrie LaPorte said. If you move here, she continued, "...you’ve got to kind of bring your job with you."
"We have 65 members — all of us are one-man shows," LaPorte said in describing the Chamber of Commerce. LaPorte owns and operates a bed and breakfast that is currently up for sale. Other common businesses include small cottage industries and mail-order businesses.
Internet-based, mail-order business owners can do well here for a crucial reason — easy access to both the U.S. and Canadian postal systems. For example, Canadian customers who order from U.S. mail-order businesses often have to wait longer as the mail processes through two different postal systems. Then, too, the cost of postage is higher for shipping to a foreign destination.
That's not a problem for a Point Roberts-based mail-order business. Packages destined for Canada can be quickly driven across the border and placed directly into the Canadian postal system. A U.S. Post Office in town serves customers in the United States.
Tourism plays another role in the economy, almost doubling the population for a couple of months each year. For example, in mid-July there were about 40 vehicles in the parking lot at Lighthouse Park on the southwestern corner of Point Roberts. With the exception of one Washington license plate and one California license plate, all the rest were from British Columbia.
Wayne Funk is a typical Canadian visitor. He comes to Point Roberts at all times of the year from his home across the border in Canada. His dog, Rusty, loves to swim in the ocean. "I just bought a trailer," he said. "It gets a little cold in a tent here in the winter."
Most visitors, though, are strictly seasonal. On the shore above Maple Beach, on the northeastern edge of U.S. territory, housing is primarily summer homes and cottages for vacationers. Because there are no restroom facilities available, it can’t exactly be called a "public" beach, but it attracts hundreds of beachgoers on any summer day — at low tide. At high tide the ocean nearly touches the seawall; when the tide goes out, however, it exposes a half mile or more of almost level beach.
ReMax real estate broker Deci Bailey appreciates the beautiful scenery. Next to those, she really likes the wildlife and the security offered by the U.S. Border Patrol.
"I believe the value in Point Roberts is its intrinsic value," she says, referring again to the views of the trees and the water.
Bailey also believes her business, real estate, is one of the two key players in the Point Roberts economy. And, as you drive around, you'll see houses being built everywhere. According to her, the three critical elements to a sale are, in order: Waterfront, view and acreage. There are some beautiful homes being built on both waterfront and slightly inland properties. Nothing, though, on Point Roberts is very far from the ocean.
General contractor Aaron Einfeld would agree with the building-boom assessment. He primarily focuses on doing interiors, both for new homes and remodeling projects, and he has more than enough work to keep his six-man crew busy full-time.
Einfeld, too, appreciates the security aspect of Point Roberts, noting, "When we were selling our house, we actually had to look for the key."
Taking the idea of never locking his doors a step farther, Einfeld said, "I hope the flavor of the Point doesn’t change."
The housing boom is obvious, but the other key element in the town's economy comes as a surprise. Both LaPorte and Bailey say that in this era of $2.95-a-gallon gas prices it's the Canadians purposely dropping in to buy gas that is a major driving force in the economy. Picking up on this, most of the gas stations sell gas either by the gallon or by the liter, and the U.S. price per liter is significantly cheaper than the price per liter just north of the border. In other words, the gas most of us think of as horribly expensive, residents of British Columbia consider downright cheap.
The constant back-and-forth mixing of Canadians and Americans leads to other anomalies as well. Both Canadian and U.S. currencies are accepted by every business in town. Some businesses post their prices in Canadian dollars and others in U.S. dollars. In mid-July a Canadian dollar was worth about 84 cents in U.S. currency.
The Point Roberts Golf and Country Club is one of the businesses that posts its prices in Canadian dollars. They will do the math and adjust so you can pay in 16 percent fewer U.S. dollars if you prefer. And it's worth it to play this course. In 2003, Golf Digest declared the then-new Point Roberts course as the best new golf course in North America.
Playing a round of golf on a warm summer's evening is a perfect way to match the rhythms that make up daily life in Point Roberts. Other than forced exercise routines like jogging or cycling, an unhurried round of golf is probably the most active part of the day for many of the 1,500 or so full-time residents of Point Roberts. Virtually all of them are content to keep it that way.
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