Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) planning staff were recommending a text change to the Halfmoon Bay official community plan (OCP) to address concerns raised during a second public hearing, held April 8 at Coopers Green Hall.
The staff recommendation, expected to be brought forward at the April 17 planning and development committee meeting, would clarify the intent of redesignating the three “community hubs” — Welcome Woods, Halfmoon Bay village and Secret Cove — so that a variety of potential uses could be considered in the future.
The added text would specify that “the intent is not to change the zoning from residential to commercial,” and will emphasize the need for community consultation “if anything is proposed in the future,” senior planner Andrew Allen said.
The revision, if accepted by the board, would not necessitate a third public hearing, since there would be no change to land use or density in the plan, Allen said.
The draft OCP also came under attack for minimizing the slope hazards of the Redrooffs Escarpment area compared to the current plan.
“Make no mistake — this is an unstable escarpment, yet the word ‘escarpment’ appears only two times in the proposed new bylaw. In the existing plan, the word ‘escarpment’ appears 15 times,” resident Roger Lagassé said in a letter to the board.
Allen said while the nomenclature in the plans may be different, the new plan expands the designated risk areas and maintains or increases protection.
“I appreciate his sentiment, but I strongly disagree,” he said. “We’re confident that the protection of these areas will remain.”
Halfmoon Bay director Garry Nohr said the concerns raised pointed to gaps in communication.
“It’s become very obvious to me that as much as you try to get communication out to the community, sometimes it doesn’t cover everybody and what their concerns are,” Nohr said. “The term ‘community hub’ upsets some people — they think it’ll be a hotel or a bar. So I gather staff is going to sort it out so that it’s not a problem for people.”
In drafting the document, Nohr said the OCP committee and staff “went out and got as much information as possible to keep Halfmoon Bay rural by nature. Rural to me doesn’t mean hotel.”
He also noted that a new geotechnical study was conducted on the Redrooffs Escarpment as part of the OCP process, and he agreed with Allen that the revised document covers more area and provides more protection than the current OCP.
Nohr said he plans to make himself available on Fridays between 10 a.m. and noon at the Halfmoon Bay Café, located in the village next to Halfmoon Bay General Store, to answer any questions from the public.
“They can address their concerns to me,” he said. “I’ll be there all summer, as much as I can.”
