With a recommendation from staff to table further discussions on the Gospel Rock neighbourhood plan before them, Gibsons council went against that recommendation and voted in favour of pushing forward to completion at the Sept. 20 council meeting.
Progress had been made on the plan in the past few months, but that work hit a roadblock during the summer when the area's two largest property owners backed out of the plan process by withdrawing financial support.
The issue was resurrected Tuesday night with the Town's planning staff recommending council put the whole matter on hold indefinitely, but all council members counteracted the suggestion, saying they felt strongly about resolving the issue.
"We owe it to the next council to give them a finished package," said Coun. Wayne Rowe.
Other councillors echoed Rowe's sentiments and agreed to carry on in an effort to send a message to both the community and the property owners that the neighbourhood plan is and remains a top priority for the Town.
Mayor Barry Janyk discussed recent correspondence received from Block 7 property owner Sander Van Der Vorm and Block 6 property owner Mark Coleman. Janyk said the owners had lost their confidence, leading them to withdraw their support.
"It appears the property owners felt that they weren't going to get what they wanted out of the plan and so, as a consequence, they aren't going to pay the bills that accrued to develop the plan to date," said Janyk, adding that the Town is now left with a significant debt. "I, for one, as a taxpayer in this community am not very happy about that, and as a consequence, I am not willing to put the plan on hiatus."
The property owners came under fire from some council members Tuesday night for not holding up their end of an agreement to pay for their part of the plan's creation, leaving the Town with a deficit of $57,000.
But council admitted there was no formal agreement in place between the two sides, only a staff report saying staff believed there was an arrangement to pay for part of the costs.
Due to these financial implications, the Town's consultant throughout the Gospel Rock planning process may no longer be able to continue with the plan, resulting in a strain of staff resources.
But council still pressed for the continuation of the process.
"This has been a long and arduous process with dollars spent. Nothing has been accomplished other than spending dollars and wasting time," said Coun. Gerry Tretick.
"Plans are always a compromise. No one person ever gets what they want. I believe we can proceed. It's now in the hands of politicians. We don't need to hire more consultants."
Although the Town has committed to continue to work on the plan, they are faced with another decision - how to deal with a subdivision application put forth by the owners of Block 7, which contains the highly contentious waterfront area.
In the past, the Town has taken the position that no applications can come forward before a neighbourhood plan is adopted, but due to the already severe delays, the Town is unsure of that procedure.
Planning talks will continue although meeting dates were not set on Tuesday.
