The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is attempting to put a cap on the size of buildings throughout the District and earlier this week gave the community an opportunity to have their say.
"What we're trying to do here tonight is get community feedback on the direction we're going with this," SCRD senior planner David Rafael told the near-capacity crowd.
The Gibsons Legion was packed on Tuesday night with more than 300 people ready to hear from the SCRD and chime in on the potential new bylaws. Rafael started the evening by giving an outline of the proposed bylaw amendments. The first zoning amendment bylaw, No. 310.113, "would restrict the maximum floor area of a commercial building to 2,350 sq. m [25,295 sq. ft.] in a C5 zone."The second bylaw No. 310.114, "would establish that no building located in that part of Electoral Area F covered by the West Howe Sound official community plan and that no part of Electoral Area E covered by the Elphinstone official community plan that is used for retail and wholesale sales as a principal use shall be larger than 2,350 sq. m in an l1 zone." The third and final zoning amendment bylaw, No. 310.115, "would establish that no building located in that part of Electoral Area D covered by the Roberts Creek official community plan that is used for retail sales as a principal use shall be larger than 1,000 sq. m in the C2 and C2A zones," which make up the village core. In Roberts Creek there has been quite a bit of public concern over the 1,000 sq. m size cap being too high. Rafael said they are going to look at that number again. After giving the details of what the planning committee has been working on, Rafael opened the floor for questions and comments. The primary concern that emerged was that the proposed bylaws would not ultimately prevent a big box store from settling in. According to planners, the way the bylaws are written at this time allows one company to build several 25,295 sq. ft. buildings on a single property.
Numerous people came forward with concern over this, but Rafael's response was, "We aren't able to control use of the buildings. We can't say it can't be run by the same company or same business." Several people in the crowd questioned, "Why not?"
Judy Skogstad, manager for SCRD planning and development, answered the crowd, "The Local Government Act does not allow us to control tenants." The crowd quieted, but was clearly not satisfied. As the evening progressed, people came forward with suggestions for the planning and development staff with ideas on how to write the bylaws in a way that would prevent one company from erecting several buildings on one property.
Another popular suggestion throughout the evening was for the planners to look at other communities that have been successful in preventing big box stores from moving into their towns, as a model for what the Coast could be doing.
Rafael was responsive to the crowd's suggestions and even asked one woman to email him an idea she had outlined. He said the planners would be taking everything into consideration as they move forward with the process. In order to place limits on the floor space of retail and wholesale buildings, the SCRD board has to go through a lengthy process. To date, the proposed bylaw amendments have made it through first and second reading. Tuesday's public information meeting was an important step, according to planners, who will now gather all the information before moving on to the next phase.
"We are planning a public hearing in May," Rafael told Coast Reporter.
