What does Weifang, China, a city 14,000 kilometres away and with almost twice the population of B.C. want to know about the Town of Gibsons? What the Town has been doing to win so many awards, and how its city planners can learn from the Town.
A delegation from Weifang including vice-mayor Liu Wei, city planners and property developers, made a stop in Gibsons Tuesday to look over the shoulders of Gibsons council and staff's work.
After an exchanging of gifts of local art from both communities, Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk welcomed the Chinese delegates with a statement he felt represented Gibsons.
"We are a small community, but we have big dreams. We are a small community yet we use our world's limited resources wisely. We are not a rich community, but we share with all others. It is an honour to be recognized by such a large and modern city as Weifang."
Liu responded with praise for Gibsons' aesthetics and a desire to learn about Gibsons.
"Weifang is also a city by the ocean. We are not as beautiful as your city. While we are here, we would like to hear more about the city of Gibsons," he said.
After formalities, it was down to business with chief administrative officer Paul Gipps and the Town's planning consultant Michael Rosen giving a presentation similar to the presentation given at the 2009 United Nations-recognized International Awards for Liveable Communities, at which Gibsons was named the most liveable community with a population under 20,000 as well as the planning for the future award, beating out cities of all sizes.
The presentation focused on the planning process and principles for the Upper Gibsons neighbourhood plan, the Town's geo-exchange system that will heat the neighbourhood, and the work still underway for planning the Gospel Rock development.
The developers had several questions around restrictions for the purchasing of land in Canada by foreigners, of which there is one.
Following a tour of the upper neighbourhood, Liu spoke of the issues facing Weifang and the value of Gibsons' advice.
"The main problem is development. Weifang is a city that keeps growing and in the past few years we have experienced a lot of expansion and growth, so the face of the city has been changing," he said. "And while we develop, we are paying more attention to conservation, ecology and environmental protection. These are the things we are looking at."
He added that this visit to Gibsons will be a memorable one.
"This is a beautiful city and very harmonious environment. I will keep this beautiful memory forever. It's very good. I wish we had more time," he said.
The delegation finished its visit with lunch at Molly's Reach where they discussed building codes, the planning process, geo-exchange and life in Weifang.
Later during Tuesday's council meeting, Janyk pondered what a city of 8.6 million could learn from a Town of 4,200 and concluded it was the overall simplicity of the Town compared to Weifang that would keep the delegates' thoughts on Gibsons.
