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Langdale ferry terminal zoning amendment to go to first reading

SCRD

Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors will vote on first reading of a zoning amendment bylaw for the BC Ferries terminal at Langdale in the coming weeks, following a committee endorsement June 8.

BC Ferries wants to consolidate the four lots that make up the terminal property and get zoning that will allow for the core terminal uses, such as parking lots and ferry berths, as well as retail space, areas for “float plane and emergency helicopter services,” mobile food vendors and a “caretaker suite and vessel personnel accommodations.”

Among the concerns raised in a staff report presented to the June 8 planning and community development committee meeting was ensuring the retail space, which could be as big as 835 square metres, is accessible to the community – a requirement of the official community plan – while still allowing BC Ferries to meet federal security rules. The report also said the SCRD should consider how a retail space of that size might impact businesses in the Town of Gibsons.

Lorne Lewis, the director for Elphinstone, said he didn’t think that was a valid concern. “I fail to see how [commercial use on that property] competes with anything in the town. I can’t see people leaving the ferry terminal to run back to town to do commercial activity and then come back to the ferry terminal. I think it’s aimed specifically at people in the lot, and not even the [immediate] neighbourhood.”

Roberts Creek director Mark Lebbell and Gibsons director Jeremy Valeriote both said infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians, within the terminal and connecting to it, should also be considered.

Director Ian Winn of West Howe Sound said he’d like to ensure there’s space for carpool parking included on the site.

Winn also said the request for a 20- to 25-metre height allowance, roughly double the current limits, needs to be looked at carefully. “My concern would be if there’s any idea of buildings 20 metres high that would be located closer to the road or closer to the parking area. Visually, it might not be appealing at all to have a very tall building located further up [from the water]… I’ll raise that as a flag that I’ll be watching.”

Darin Guenette of BC Ferries told Coast Reporter that the company’s planning is still in the preliminary stages, so the design team approached the SCRD with a host of possible future uses at the terminal for the regional district staff to work with.

He explained the height allowance is largely to accommodate a passenger gantry and operations tower. The retail space could end up being similar to the shopping area at the Departure Bay terminal in Nanaimo. “We are looking at more permanent commercial usage on both sides of the ‘fare paid’ zone [the area after the toll booths],” Guenette said. “The discussion is around where it might be and what it might look like.”

Another unusual aspect of the rezoning application is the request to allow for on-site living quarters. Guenette said BC Ferries is hoping to have that option available down the road to make it possible to have “crewing flexibility” in the future if the schedule and types of ferry being used make it more practical to have employees staying at the terminal for short periods of time.

Guenette said BC Ferries is not yet ready to discuss a project budget at this stage. Earlier this year, the federal government committed $17 million for the terminal upgrade.

The committee also endorsed sending the proposed zoning amendments out to the West Howe Sound Advisory Planning Commission, the Squamish Nation, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Islands Trust and others for comment.

A public information meeting will be held, but the date is still to be set.