The consultants working on the Gospel Rock neighbourhood plan are heading back to the drawing board as Gibsons residents, it appears, can't seem to make up their minds regarding the final direction for the Gospel Rock proposal.
After sending back Plan A of the neighbourhood plan this past summer, Plan B was rejected Monday night during a special council meeting in Gibsons, in favour of another possible model - a hybrid model.
Holland Barrs Consulting, joined via phone conferencing, proposed Plan B in accordance with what residents and members of the Gospel Rock neighbourhood plan select committee wanted in the summer. The plan includes 235 single-family lots and 234 multi-family lots, totalling 469 units, and 89 carriage homes.
Alternatively, Plan A features 132 single-family lots and 210 multi-family lots, totalling 352 units, 12 of which would be waterfront properties.
Both plans feature a generous 30 per cent open green space and innovative designs to deal with storm water run off.
The concern with the development of the waterfront focuses around the use of the land, which is currently being used as parkland. The land is privately owned by Bill Bryson.
While the total cost for each project is within a million dollars of each other, the start up costs are much higher with Plan B.
"The upfront costs are much higher with Plan B. The servicing costs are due to the increased roads, and the construction of lane ways was expensive," said Holland Bars consultant Jeff Harold.
Discussions Monday night between the landowner, council, the select committee and the public at times displayed a lack of connectivity between all parties involved. Members of the select committee proposed the idea of a hybrid model, which would see a total of three to four waterfront lots.
Complications with the design of the development were also raised. "The concern I have is how is this development any different than those found in Port Coquitlam? There was supposed to be more creativity put into this project that I don't think is there," said one member of the public in the gallery.
"There is a distinct difference between Plan A and B. There is a higher density in Plan B, due to the lack of waterfront properties. However, the concept is designed with alleyways, laneways and innovative designs dealing with storm runoff. It's not like a subdivision you would find in Greater Vancouver," Harold explained.
As it stands now, the plan is to have consultants from Holland Barrs meet with the other landowners, including Bryson, to draw up a plan that would incorporate the needs of the property owners. Along with an additional meeting, the draft proposal of a hybrid model will have to wait a few months. An environmental study of the land, initiated by Bryson, is still in the works and could take months before a verdict can be reached about the ecological sensitivity of the land.
"I think everyone here wants a decision to be made regarding Gospel Rock, but until all parties agree on a direction, the plan is going to have to wait," Mayor Barry Janyk said at the meeting.
