The Upper Gibsons Neigh-bourhood Plan is getting another facelift.
At a special council meeting Tuesday, council approved several changes to the Upper Gibsons Neighbourhood Plan document.
Councillors, staff and members of the public debated at length over the document and the planning process that has been undertaken so far.
According to director of planning Chris Marshall, last June, the consulting firm Small Town Initiatives submitted their final copy of the Upper Gibsons Neigh-bourhood Plan entitled "A Framework Plan for the Upper Gibsons Neighbourhood."
The plan they presented was six months overdue, and although the property owners and public were happy with the concepts and land uses it described, the plan did not provide details as to how the plan would be serviced, accessed, phased or implemented, added Marshall. As a result, the town hired Urban Systems to provide the details of how the proposed land uses and planning concepts in the Framework Plan could be implemented.
A draft copy of the Upper Gibsons Neighbourhood Strategic Servicing Plan was received Nov. 23 and was distributed to council, staff, committee members and the regular referral agencies for comment.
Marshall said at this point, neither the Framework Plan submitted by Small Town Initiatives nor the Urban Systems Strategic Servicing Plan are stand-alone neigh-bourhood plans. As a result, Marshall suggested to council more of the introductory work in the Small Town Initiatives plan be incorporated into the Urban Systems plan.
Marshall then provided an overview on key issues that he feels should be incorporated into the neighbourhood plan. They include: an assimilation of the framework plan and servicing plan; need for designation of development permit areas; transportation network sanitary and storm water issues.
Staff responded to several questions from council and members of the gallery.
Questions were about the closure of Park Road, a second light at Sunnycrest not allowed if the light at Shaw Road remains, present failure of certain intersections, a possible road through White Tower Park (extension of O'Shea Road), Venture Way connection from Park Road and a need to explore other options for road conditions.
After almost three hours of discussion, Coun. Chris Koopmans moved that the proposed road network be confirmed, including: moving the traffic signal from Shaw Road to Sunnycrest Road; closing Park Road and making a connection from Park Road through to Venture Way; two traffic circles on Road C; traffic signal at Reed Road and North Road; and connecting Road C through School District property to Kiwanis Way.
This motion was carried.
A second motion, also carried, states that connecting Shaw Road to Mahon Road via the extension of O'Shea Road be referred back to Marshall and the Ministry of Transportation to develop more options before proceeding.
Council also approved a recommended option suggested by Marshall concerning the sanitary sewer system and the drainage system.
All the above changes were then adopted by council to be incorporated into the Draft Upper Gibsons Neighbourhood Plan.
It was also suggested that two neighbourhood parks be included in the plan and that guidelines be included in the plan for community gardens. These two motions were also approved.
Following the approval of all the motions, Marshall provided council with a potential timeframe for the adoption of the plan.
Urban Systems should complete the changes to the plan by March 1. In mid to late March, the town will hold an open house on the draft plan. In early April, council will instruct staff to write bylaw amendments to incorporate the plan into the town's Official Community Plan. Later in April, the bylaw will receive first reading, followed by a public hearing in May. In early June, the bylaw would proceed through second and third reading and the bylaw would be referred to the Ministry of Transportation for approval. If all goes well, the bylaw could be adopted by early July.
