The following letter was sent to the Town of Gibsons and copied to Coast Reporter.
I was shocked to learn that for the last three years Gibsons has not had a functioning heritage advisory committee. Please tell me why that is, as "heritage" was one of the reasons Gibsons won the best place to live award several years back.
Initial design plans for the Armours Beach structures didn't seem to have any direction from council, which seems odd to me.
The Village of Gibson's Landing built the municipal hall in 1947/48. Many people deem heritage important and interesting. Instead of some grandiose design, why not restore this wonderful old structure? It is restorable and reusable.
Tourists and locals alike love quaint places with character. They love lawns that are a community's seating for water events and used for summer lounging. The open view at that point along Marine Drive would be sorely missed if parking and buildings filled that space. The stroll up and down the sea walk below is fine as is.
In 2003 Gibsons did a heritage inventory, backed up in 2006 with a detailed heritage inventory and register called "Once Upon a Time" (Google it). In these documents, this building is noted as a site of primary significance and our official community plan states Gibsons will "protect heritage buildings and sites."
Plans like the one presented for Armours Beach are an insult to the West Coast hamlet that Gibsons is. New structures should complement the Town's heritage and respect our Squamish neighbours. Once it's gone, a new council can't bring it back.
Nancy Gaudry, Gibsons
