Armours Beach in Gibsons has been determined a heritage site, but the existing building has been determined a hazard, according to Town of Gibsons staff.
At the Gibsons committee of the whole meeting on Feb. 17, parks director Wendy Gilbertson recommended to council that the building should be demolished and replaced with a viewing platform bordered by panels depicting the history of the beach.
She also recommended that hand rails be installed on the stairs, the floating docks be extended into deeper water so children can jump off them safely, and the boomstick perimeter be replaced by buoys to mark the designated swimming area.
Concentrating on immediate safety concerns, chief administrative officer Emanuel Machado recommended that the demolition of the building, construction of a viewing platform, and installation of hand rails be moved forward to council, while the other concerns be considered at a later date.
Machado’s recommendation was approved by the committee and will now go to council for final approval.
Unnamed lanes
The Town of Gibsons has six unnamed lanes and residents have requested that these lanes be given names so emergency vehicles will have an easier time navigating them.
Originally the lanes were designated to be named after local flora, but Coun. Silas White suggested they be named after characters from The Beachcombers.
Names from the TV show set in Gibsons (which ran from 1972 to 1990) were accepted under the conditions that they be from the names of fictional characters only and no longer than 10 typographical characters in length.
Options include Relic’s Lane, Jet Boat Lane, Beachcomber Lane and Constable Lane.
These suggestions were put forward for consideration at the March 3 council meeting.
The spelling of Mahon Road versus Mahan Road also came under discussion. The Town has been spelling it with an O while the Sunshine Coast Regional District has been spelling it with an A.
For the sake of consistency the recommendation to change Mahon to Mahan was approved and will be put forward to council.
Procedure bylaw
At the Feb. 17 council meeting, council completed a final review, approved changes and gave first reading to its new procedural bylaw.
Council also approved a recommendation that more Town Hall meetings will be held on an as-needed basis.
The changes made Tues-day now state council meetings must adjourn at 9:30 p.m.; however, council maintains the right to extend meetings as necessary.
Guest speakers and participating audience members now must identify themselves with their jurisdiction of residence instead of their personal address. And delegations are limited to two per meeting and must be no more than 10 minutes in length.
Council is expected to provide further readings of the bylaw at its March 3 council meeting.
OCP public hearing
A public hearing for residents to weigh in regarding proposed changes to the Town’s official community plan has been scheduled for March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Gibsons Legion.
