Harbour plan arrives at council

Development permit applications are expected to start rolling in once the Gibsons Harbour area plan makes its way through council.

Harbour plans have been a long part of the Town's history. Since 1968 councils have brought forward visions of what the community wants to see on its waterfront.

The current plan began with the start of the outgoing council's term and will enter the public hearing stage under a new slate of elected officials.

Lengthy discussions between community groups about how the permits would fit in with the Town impelled the creation of the latest harbour plan, which seeks to offer more clarity and options for development along the Gibsons harbour.

"Our consultant has told us that we're one of the most studied harbours anywhere around," said municipal planner Michael Epp.

He added that during the drafting process many voiced their desires to see the character of Gibsons maintained, a challenging proposition when creating a balanced document dealing with development.

While the plan outlines a sort of wish list for potential developments, as much as a quarter of the document deals with the character of the Town and how to maintain it.

Staff and council hope the new plan will provide developers and property owners with new options, including live-work developments and mixed-marine zoning.

"The reason we did that is people said, we want to maintain the working harbour," Epp said.

Epp added that the idea was to maintain traditional enterprises such as boat repair while also appealing to tourism.

The plan also has a policy of exploring an expansion of houseboats in the harbour area but refrains from being too particular due to concerns surrounding the potential environmental impact that might have.

First and foremost, the plan provides the Town with options, Mayor Barry Janyk said. As the document makes its way through council readings and a public hearing, new permit applications are expected to make an appearance on staff desks.

"The first thing that's going to be coming forward I think in the next few months will be this application for this hotel conference facility," Janyk said, adding that he expects it might be a hard sell for the developer to make to residents.

The implications of such a development, which could include a seawalk and restaurant, will have to be looked at once the permit application comes forward.

Having a harbour plan in place, it is hoped, will communicate the diversity of opinions in Gibsons in a more streamlined way while also allowing permit applications to be given their due consideration by the public.

"It is a historic occasion because this has been a work the community's been involved in for this entire term," said Coun. LeeAnn Johnson before participating in the unanimous vote to receive the plan at the Nov. 15 council meeting.

Should the plan be adopted, it will be amalgamated with the official community plan.

A tentative public hearing date for the harbour plan has been set for Jan. 17, 2012, but a change may be up to the new council's discretion.