Gibsons council has voted to hold a new public hearing on Phase 3 of the Parkland development, after the Town and developer made some changes to respond to concerns raised at the first hearing.
Parkland borders Payne Road in Upper Gibsons, and for Phase 3, Reed Road Developments had applied to rezone the remaining portion of two properties at the southeast corner of the subdivision, from single-family residential and two-family residential zone 3 (R-3) to small lot cottage residential (RC) and parks, recreation and open space zone (PRO) and create 25 new lots.
Residents who spoke at the July 5 public hearing raised concerns about loss of a greenbelt area, changing the storm water systems to move a pond created during earlier phases of the development, and a possible increase in density.
A staff report presented at the Sept. 6 council meeting outlined changes to the zoning application that included: taking a parcel that was going to remain R-3 and adding it to the area being rezoned RC, and removing an area that would have required a road closure.
Council also voted Sept. 6 to set up a covenant that would commit the developer to a $60,000 contribution to the Town’s Affordable Housing Reserve Fund, guarantee additional landscaping of the Town-owned green belt lands to the east and south, provide public land for green space and storm water management, and confirmation of a maximum of 26 residential lots in the Phase 3 subdivision.
“It was the feeling of council generally that the Town had not done an adequate job of at least assuring the information was out there,” said Mayor Wayne Rowe. “That’s the reason staff is coming back with these recommendations – to basically do a ‘do-over.’”
The Town plans to hold a public hearing Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. in the council chamber.
The first Parkland public hearing also saw concerns raised by a Pratt Road property owner who claimed ongoing storm water issues are, at least partly, being caused by development in Parkland and other areas above Highway 101.
The property in the 600-block of Pratt is within Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) jurisdiction, and the SCRD’s planning and community development committee dealt with the issue at its Sept. 8 meeting.
Andrew Allen, manager of planning and development, told the committee that it’s clear there’s been an increase in storm water flow into Chaster Creek, and it’s causing damage to the property.
Allen said he spoke with his counterparts at the Town of Gibsons and there’s no easy solution.
“The trouble primarily here is we don’t know precisely where the water is coming from,” he said. “The Town of Gibsons staff do not feel as though it’s coming from the Parkland development. It could be drainage from the highway, it could be from the adjacent commercial properties along the northwest boundary of the property … That remains the crux of the issue here.”
The committee voted to have SCRD staff continue studying the issue, and bring the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure into the discussion.
Mary-Catharine Anderson, whose parents own the property, spoke afterwards. She thanked the committee, but also said they see a direct connection between development and the problems they’re having on the property.
Citing guidelines prepared for the province that point to an increase in impervious land (areas covered by concrete, blacktop or similar surfaces) as the number one cause of storm water-related damage and erosion, Anderson told the committee: “As the land directly north of 611 Pratt Road has changed to about 90 per cent impervious over the last 10 to 15 years, a timeline that’s also consistent with documented increase in flow damage, it’s warranted to look at the infrastructure in this area.”
