The Gibsons Waterfront Defense Association, one of the groups behind a protest at the May 17 town council meeting, says it’s planning to keep up a presence in Lower Gibsons.
The Association has been a registered society for more than a year now, and they’ve been operating out of an office at 287 Gower Point Rd. for the past eight months.
Inge Harrison, one of the group’s 10 directors, said although a lot of attention has been focused on the George Hotel proposal, which was the target of the May 17 protest, there are wider questions when it comes to the future of the Gibsons waterfront.
She also said those questions, and how Gibsons council deals with them, matter to people living throughout the town, and in places like Granthams Landing and Langdale. Harrison believes their voices, and those of tourists, need to be heard.
The association supports the move earlier this year by a resident who went to court to try to get an injunction against the Town’s potential transfer of a section of Winn Road to a developer (that issue is still before the courts). And Harrison appeared before council to question the level of public consultation around the decision to use money from a parks acquisition fund to increase the Town’s stake in the Gibsons Public Market.
“We want to make sure that some decisions were not made by council, without consulting the public, as required in the Community Charter,” said Harrison.
For Harrison the bottom line is a desire to preserve and enhance the scenic village character of Lower Gibsons.
“This is not just about the George, but waterfront development in general,” she said. “To be able to walk in Gibsons and to be able to see the water and making sure the OCP and the Harbour Plan are adhered to.”
The association isn’t against development and acknowledges it has to happen, according to Harrison, but they want to act as a watchdog.
Harrison would love to see people take time to drop by the office to discuss the issues, or give them a call at 778-462-2218. They plan to keep the office open mornings from Monday to Friday.
