Trellis Seniors Services’ decision to use a site in Gibsons for a long-term care facility it is set to build under contract to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) may have lowered municipal approval hurdles, but it hasn’t calmed opposition.
The company and the Town of Gibsons announced late last week that they’d struck a deal for the sale of Town-owned land at 571 Shaw Road for $2.24 million.
And although Trellis has been critical of delays in getting zoning and OCP changes in Sechelt, the company said, in a statement posted to its website on Monday, that it “remains interested in Sechelt for other seniors housing opportunities” and will keep its option on the Derby Road property and keep its application for zoning and Official Community Plan amendments active with the district.
Gibsons Mayor Wayne Rowe told Coast Reporter that a two-week “notice of proposed disposition” of Town property is the only public process required by Gibsons before the company can take possession of the Shaw Road property, apply for building permits and begin construction.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), though, still has to sign off on amendments to the project development and service agreements with Trellis to change the location from Derby Road in West Sechelt.
VCH media relations officer Anna Marie D’Angelo said, “We have to do due diligence in looking at the amendment itself and does that meet our contract requirements, and also what implications this proposed relocation will have on service delivery, staff, physicians and the community.”
She also said the health authority does not know yet if an amendment would require approval of the VCH board.
Trellis has already missed key milestones in the agreements with VCH, including the June 1, 2017 date for start of construction and, even if the change to Gibsons is approved, it will miss the July 31, 2018 completion and Aug. 31, 2018 move-in dates. It would take until early 2019 to have a facility in Gibsons up and running.
The project development agreement, however, considers delays in municipal approvals (unless they’re caused by the developer) a so-called “force majeure,” not unlike fires or acts of God, and the milestone dates will be extended automatically.
It also says, however, that if a delay caused by force majeure extends past 270 days, “VCH may treat the delay as a material breach and terminate [the] agreement.”
It’s unclear how a change of location will figure into those calculations.
Rowe said council weighed the opposition to the Trellis project, which will replace the publicly owned and operated facilities at Shorncliffe and Totem Lodge, for a net gain of only 20 long-term care beds.
“Our view is that that’s a bigger policy discussion that needs to take place at the [provincial] government level [and] at Vancouver Coastal Health,” he said.
Some opponents have already questioned the Trellis-Gibsons deal, claiming the terms of the original sale of the land by the Christenson family in 1993 forbid the Town from selling it or letting it be used by a for-profit company.
Rowe said the sale agreement, which included the land now owned by Good Samaritans, had a “right of reverter clause,” which allowed the family to buy back the land if they disagreed with what the Town was doing with it. That clause was withdrawn and replaced, with the agreement of the Christenson heirs, by a restrictive covenant.
A copy of the covenant provided by the Town says the land may be used only for “public park, public playground, community centre, public school, police station, library, community health facilities, not-for profit housing for seniors, with a minimum of 10 per cent of the land to be dedicated for public park, or public road.”
Rowe said the covenant does not prevent the sale of the land and it remains binding on any new owners, adding that the deal with Trellis fits the “community health facility” use. “This is absolutely no different from what the Town did 10 years ago when Christenson Village was approved and created.”
Protect Public Health Care Sunshine Coast said this week that its opposition to the Trellis-VCH contract remains unchanged, and it wants to see new long-term care beds created within the public sphere.
“We call on Gibsons council and VCH to begin a Coast-wide process of community consultation on the implications of approving a private, for-profit facility,” the group said in a press release. “Many members of our community have a clear preference for public care. We believe it is their right to have a say in decisions so important to the physical, economic and social well-being of the Sunshine Coast.”
Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons said he has already talked to new health minister Adrian Dix about what, if any, options the province has. “It’s being discussed internally, with a high priority, considering the fact that we desperately need new beds,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sechelt issued a statement this week saying, in part, “There is a continued need for the Coast’s communities to focus on the healthcare needs of our residents. It is Vancouver Coastal Health that has the mandate to meet those needs in ways that provide positive support for all and the authority to make the decision on where and how healthcare services are provided on the Sunshine Coast.”
The statement also defends the municipality’s handling of the Trellis application.
“Sechelt council is committed to considering all applications brought before it employing proper public process, as was and will continue to be done in this case,” it reads. “The District of Sechelt will continue to focus on the democratic principles of open dialogue and transparent decision making.
“Council also appreciated receiving the June 7, 2017 letter outlining Trellis’ comments on its experiences working with the district. Despite increased development activity in our community and challenges maintaining a full complement of staff, the district’s Development Services Department continues to fulfil its mandate of advising council on development applications. In the case of Trellis’ project, review and analysis of a complex application was brought forward for consideration within six months of receipt.”
