Owners of the Lighthouse Pub spent much of their recent open house dispelling rumours about the project and deflecting criticism from nearby residents.
"Anybody who endorses this plan has got to be nuts," one man yelled before leaving the open house Tuesday night. His comment summed up the mood of many; however, a small number of people spoke in favour of the project.
"The louder voices may be saying they are against this project, but the quieter ones are saying they support it," pub owner Ron Davis said at the open house.
The Lighthouse commercial complex sits at 5674 Wharf Rd. and consists of two buildings occupied by the Lighthouse Pub, the beer and wine store, the Odyssey restaurant, Pacific Wings Airlines and 624 square metres of vacant retail space.
Davis is proposing to move the beer and wine store into that vacant space and increase seating at the pub from 85 to 200 seats. The interior floor space of the pub wouldn't change but the deck will almost triple in size under the plan.
Davis wants to extend the deck down the length of the establishment and incorporate another deck upstairs on the government dock side.
He's also planning to expand the marina on the water side of the pub providing 30 berths, 10 of which would be monthly berths and 20 overnight berths.
This expansion also calls for a gas bar for boats to fuel up and new washrooms, showers and a laundry facility for boaters using the government dock and the pub's marina.
Some components of the plan have been dropped, such as the helicopter pad.
"The only reason we were looking at that was because in the eight months I have been at the pub we have seen helicopters land sideways on the floats many times and that is not safe. It was never meant to be a commercial helicopter pad and we heard from the public it was something they weren't happy with, so we dropped it," pub manager Dale Schweighardt said.
Schweighardt was circled by citizens most of the night, many angry about possible noise problems the expansion could bring and the severe lack of parking in the area.
"Parking is a huge concern for us, and we are investigating ways to increase parking," Schweighardt said, noting the pub is in negotiations with the owner of the nearby hotel for land to use for parking.
The increase in seating at the pub calls for 133 parking spaces to be available; currently the pub has 62 spaces on site and possible use of 15 spaces owned by the district at the government dock.
Those 15 spaces would be added in exchange for the developer providing shower facilities and laundry for the travelling public, said a report on the project.
Aspects of the plan that were simply rumour were dispelled by Schweighardt, who said the pub does not plan to extend its hours past midnight weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends, and it does not plan to fill in the duck marsh to make room for parking.
"What we do plan to do is open our restaurant earlier in the morning to provide a place for the public to come and enjoy a nice breakfast. That's something we see is lacking in this community," Schweighardt said.
During the two-hour open house Tuesday night, he emphasized the pub's willingness to listen to community concerns and often noted, "This is the first I've heard of these concerns" when chastised for reports of noise levels and rowdy customers.
"We are a community pub and we care about this community. Call us if you have a problem. We're responsible corporate citizens and we'll find solutions. I'll put a doorman on if these are issues you have, but please let us know," he added.
The expansion does not need a change in zoning to take place so officially an open house was not required by the district. However, owners of the pub decided to hold an open house after being urged to do so by the District.
Now the plan will go to the Sechelt planning, environment and economic development committee for approval before going to council where it will be decided if a development permit will be issued.
