The owner of the waterfront block of property on Gospel Rock has shown some interest in selling the lot to the Town of Gibsons for environmental protection, but the land may come with a $4 million price tag.
In a letter to the Gospel Rock refinement working committee from Gibsons Project GP Ltd., principal Sander Van Der Vorm, he states that under normal circumstances, the company would reject the offer.
His letter lists three reasons why such a sale would not be viable for the company: waterfront development has always been integral to the overall plan for development of Gospel Rock, revenue from the waterfront properties is needed for providing services and amenities for the rest of the development and the concern that third parties may try to slow down the planning process and/or attempt to force down the price of the land.
Van Der Vorm goes on to write the company respects the committee's request to discuss a potential sale and the company would be willing to meet with senior staff from the Town to see if a "mutually workable arrangement can be found."
In his letter, Van Der Vorm states that consultation with realtors knowledgeable in waterfront development has found the lot to be worth "in excess of $3.7 million."
An accompanying letter from realtor Colliers International states the current market value for the property is $4 million.
Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk said it is now up to council to discuss whether to proceed and, if so, to begin negotiation on the price of the property based on assessed value as opposed to market value.
"If we have any inclination at all to do it, then the next step would be to make a determination based on the assessed value. We'd have to try to get some refined appraisals that would verify what Colliers has indicated," Janyk said.
Beyond that, Janyk said council will have to approve a timeframe, research where the funds could come from, the cost of holding fees and what kind of management format the lands would be governed under.
In comments submitted to the committee, some residents have praised the waterfront purchase idea and already sent in donations, while others wrote to say they want no tax dollars spent on buying the property.
Janyk said he too disagreed with asking taxpayers to pay for the property and suggested the Town use money from its parks acquisition fund. That fund is made up of money collected from developers with every new development and can only legally be spent on buying new parkland. Janyk said the Town already has more park space than it really needs and cannot afford to maintain any more. The fund currently has about $280,000.
"That might be an avenue that could be pursued, but I certainly don't want to use taxpayers' dollars to fund any additional parks in this community," he said.
Because the discussion involves the potential acquisition of land, it must be held behind closed doors, though Janyk said any decisions council makes will be made public after.
He added that if there is an effort to purchase the land, it is going to have to be heavily supported and committed to by the community: "The community ultimately, if council is going to go in that direction, is going to have to say 'yes, we support it, and here's how and here's how much' because the Town itself certainly can't afford to purchase that. We'd have to have that broader discussion with the community," he said.
Meanwhile, council will also now have to decide the future of the committee as the Town's director of planning Chris Marshall is set to move out of province, leaving an empty seat at the committee table.
The committee is scheduled to meet again on Aug. 17 at 9 a.m.
