Town of Gibsons council members now have more than 150 pieces of input to weigh as they consider further readings of bylaws to change the official community plan land use designations and zonings to enable re-development of the Stonehurst site and adjacent town-owned Lot 23.
The agenda for the April 25 Town of Gibsons public hearing on proposed bylaw amendments contained 133 written submissions. One additional submission was received after agenda publication and 22 individuals spoke at the virtual event.
Public concerns come forward
A Coast Reporter review of the public comment documents on the agenda estimated at least 100 letters stated either opposition to or concerns with the proposed amendments. Issues raised included concerns about the scale and height of the proposed development, a lack of “fit” with the town’s Harbour neighbourhood and official community plan, a desire to see heritage designation and protection for the historic Inglis House structure located on the developer’s lot, as well as concerns regarding the traffic safety, water supply and tree canopy impacts of the proposed development. Most of the written comments stated opposition to the bylaws as precursors to the potential sale of Lot 23 by the town to the developer.
Of the 22 speakers at the hearing, all but one expressed similar sentiments.
Amendment contents and next steps
The bylaw changes under consideration would allow the historic Inglis house, located on Pacific Ray Development’s (PRD) Stonehurst property at 529 Gibsons Way, to be restored into a six-room boutique hotel and bistro.
The lower portion of Lot 23 would be rezoned for park use and retained by the town. The upper half of that lot and PRD’s property would be rezoned for residential and tourism accommodation use to permit a 22-unit condominium development. Should the bylaw changes be endorsed, PRD has proposed to purchase the upper portion of that town lot to complete that project.
As a condition of the rezoning, PRD proposes a covenant to preserve the external heritage features of the Inglis House, to provide $150,000 to the town for the development of the expanded park and to replace free public vehicle parking that exists on Lot 23 with 16 spaces in the development’s parking areas.
A decision on the terms of the Lot 23 sale would be subject to a separate vote of council. In an April 24 email, town communications manager Bronwyn Kent stated that, “Council has passed a resolution to agree to sell the land in principle, if the rezoning is approved. The sale price is dependent on an updated assessment of the property and may be negotiated further at the time of the sale.”
A staff report on hearing input is to be presented at a future council meeting. Adoption of each amendment requires elected officials to vote in support of two additional readings, and for the zoning changes, the approval of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. A development agreement would need to be executed and registered on title for the project to proceed.
Technical challenges
Audio and video issues with the online meeting technology plagued the first half of the one-hour and 45-minute hearing. At its call to order, Coun. David Croal was attending from a remote location. Within 10 minutes, he opted to travel to town hall where Mayor Silas White was chairing the meeting, rather than to struggle to hear other participants.
Issues with microphone feedback at town hall resulted in a member of the public who attended at that location abandoning his attempt to speak. He did note he had also submitted his view in writing. That incident prompted remote attendee Coun. Stafford Lumley to comment on recent technology updates at council chambers with the question “How much did we pay for this system?”
