"So far, so good," were some of the general comments heard from visitors as they read planning documents and watched a 3D computer model of the Town of Gibsons Harbour Area Plan during an open house Oct. 5.
The Town's informal public presentation displayed phase three of the plan developed for the land area around Gibsons Landing over the next 10 to 20 years. It encompasses the upland to South Fletcher and runs from Heritage Hills to the foot of the bluff, but does not include the water or government dock.
Phase three consolidates the visioning from phase one with the feasibility, as determined in phase two, and has now been turned back to the community for feedback.
Consultant Paul Lebofsky of Matrix Architecture called the current plan "a reasonable compromise" and said that it brings clarity.
"I haven't heard any negative comments tonight so far," he said of last Wednesday's open house.
Some of the controversial issues of past presentations will remain in the current plan, for example, a housing development and tourist accommodation slated for the waterfront and the projected use of prime land in Holland Park for housing.
Other issues include environmental protection of the shoreline. The plan calls for assessing the impact of new and existing development near the water to retain valuable eelgrass and promote water quality. A continuous walkway along the waterfront is another popular request.
The plan also calls for preservation of the scale and character of the community.
"It's one of the things that attracted people here," said the Town's development services co-ordinator, Jeff Paleczny. "It's exciting to get to what the community wants."
Gibsons municipal planner Michael Epp said the plan gives the community clarity on what is planned for the future, and it works for the developers as well who need to know the parameters for building in Gibsons.
Epp noted that many of the open house visitors were still talking about the big picture, a process that had already taken place during the early visioning meetings. "But it's not too late to have input, as the plan is not yet in bylaw form," Epp said.
The next stage calls for Town staff to consolidate open house comments by Oct. 21. Then the matter will be discussed at a planning committee meeting on Nov. 8, and the committee will make their recommendation to council. If finalized, the plan will be incorporated into the OCP.
"We might have to hand off this council's vision to the next one," said Epp, since the process might not get to adoption by the municipal elections in November.
Residents can still have input by contacting town hall or by testing out a new on-line communication. The website is called www.placespeak.com, and after registering, residents can click on Gibsons Harbour, browse the issues and speak their minds.
