Gibsons council has approved a development variance permit for parking at a planned affordable housing project on a Town-owned lot at 571 Shaw Rd., but it’s not the variance originally proposed.
Instead of allowing angled parking along O’Shea Road that would be assigned to the building, council adopted a variance that would reduce the minimum number of parking spaces required for the 40-unit phase one building from 36 to 28.
The change in plan came after the original variance application was referred to Transportation Choices Sunshine Coast (TraC), which said adding angled parking on O’Shea would be a safety concern and inhibit the future development of O’Shea as a primary route for pedestrians and cyclists.
The planning department also recommended a cycling and pedestrian trail be built along the north property line of 571 Shaw to connect with the existing White Tower Park trail.
Coun. David Croal, who has worked in property management, said it was his experience that in similar developments the number of parking spaces built often exceeds the number of vehicles owned by tenants, so a reduction in the required number of spaces shouldn’t cause any problems.
Mayor Bill Beamish, who had raised concerns about the angled parking on O’Shea, said he “appreciated the compromise.”
Gibsons urged to sign anti-racism protocol
Gibsons council is being asked to sign and support a community protocol for response to critical incidents of racism and hate, first drafted in 2018 as part of a project by the province and the Sunshine Coast Organizing Against Racism and Hate Committee.
Consultant April Struthers, who helped draft the protocol, told council incidents of racism and hate seem to increase during epidemics, like the current COVID-19 outbreaks, and disasters.
Struthers said response from local governments to recent incidents has been “very positive,” but she also pointed out that only one local government – the District of Sechelt – has actually signed the protocol.
Mayor Bill Beamish said events in the two years since, including the recent theft of the pride flag from Town Hall and vandalism at a Pender Harbour school, have shown the need for the protocol and he wants Gibsons to become a signatory.
“The issues weren’t as clear at that time, at least to me they weren’t,” Beamish said. “We’ve seen the [rainbow] crosswalk in Lower Gibsons painted over, we’ve seen graffiti in Lower Gibsons, we’ve experienced racial tensions over the Wet’suwet’n issue… We’ve seen threats and mischaracterizations of vulnerable people.”
