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.’”School District No. 46 (SD46) has spent about $1.5 million over the summer getting schools cleaned and upgraded for students to return this month.
During the Sept. 14 school board meeting, secretary treasurer Nicholas Weswick said all schools received the regular “summer deep clean” but some schools also saw major capital improvements.
Langdale Elementary had its old single-pane windows replaced with new double-pane windows that will make a big difference for student comfort and will increase energy savings for the district, Weswick said.
Schools like Chatelech Secondary got new drinking fountains with bottle filling stations for students and there was a boiler upgrade completed at Madeira Park Elementary.
SD46 also completed heating, ventilation and air-conditioning upgrades throughout the district.
Elphinstone Secondary had several projects completed over summer break and one major project is still being worked on – a new library for Elphi.
The school had its counselling office reconfigured and painted to make it more welcoming and offer more privacy for students and the school also had an overhaul of its art room, complete with new pull-down power supplies, computer stations and a custom drying rack.
While those projects were completed over summer break, the library is a bigger project that’s expected to be wrapped up by the end of October.
The new library floor plan does away with the old entrance and creates a more open and welcoming entrance from the foyer, where the trophy case used to be located. It has a space for a “social media lounge” and an accessible textbook area for staff that was lacking before.
The new library will also feature bookracks on coasters so the main room can be changed around to suit a variety of uses, and the library will be equipped with three projectors and a 12-foot screen.
Once completed, the new library will be a brighter, cleaner, more functional and more welcoming space for students and staff.
While the work continues at Elphinstone Secondary, builders have put up wooden panels with life-sized student cutouts where teens and teachers can peer in and see the progress being made.
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.”
