Editor:
In 2008, a controversial development proposal called ‘Shoal Bay’ stirred up Gibsons Landing. The proposed condominium complex on the waterfront was 65-feet tall. After numerous open public meetings, council decisively rejected the proposal based on overwhelming community disapproval.
Leading up to the public hearing, the vice-president of the now defunct Gibsons Landing Business Association (GLBA) attempted to submit a letter of support for the Shoal Bay Condo proposal to Town council on behalf of GLBA. However, many GLBA members opposed the height and massing of the project and didn’t appreciate being pressured to support it.
As a waterfront property owner, tourism accommodation business owner and member of GLBA at the time, I naively believed that the GLBA hierarchy wanted to find some common ground on the issue of waterfront development. So, I politely raised my hand at monthly meetings and asked that the membership be provided an opportunity for dialogue. After 10 months of being disregarded, a GLBA founder and several members came to me saying they’d had enough.
We left GLBA, joined up with the Gibsons Residents Association (GRASS), and established an open and inclusive group called the Gibsons Landing Community Association (GLCA). We began working proactively with the Town of Gibsons, and focused on informing and engaging the community on a variety of issues; including waterfront development. In 2012, at the request of our business members, we updated our constitution and bylaws, renamed ourselves Gibsons Alliance of Business and Community (GABC) and registered as a non-profit society.
GLBA dissolved in 2011 and reconstituted as the Landing Business Group in 2012 with Peggy Wright as their president. Just in time to fervently support the hotel and condo’s waterfront development in Gibsons Landing.
George Santayana said: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” He was right.
Suzanne Senger, president, Gibsons Alliance of Business and Community
