A hearing date has been set for the O’Shea-Oceanmount Community Association’s (OOCA) BC Supreme Court petition seeking to quash the zoning amendment for the Eagleview Heights project in Gibsons.
The project, headed by TCD Developments, now known as 464 Eaglecrest Drive Properties Ltd. (EDP), is planned for a five-acre (two-hectare) parcel at 464 Eaglecrest Drive and will include a mix of 87 townhouse and apartment units to be built out in three sections on the sloped property’s upper and lower benches.
The necessary zoning amendment was passed by Gibsons council on June 19, 2018.
The community association filed its court challenge the following month, claiming the zoning bylaw “directly conflicts with the [Official] Community Plan, the effect of which, if left unchecked will dramatically alter the character and quality of life in their community and will, even more importantly, undermine the importance of the [Official] Community Plan.”
At the heart of the claim is the way allowable density for the property was determined.
The association disputes the way the Town’s planning staff calculated something known as “floor space ratio” (FSR), a ratio of the gross floor area of buildings and the lot area, and contends the development should have been restricted to a maximum of 48 units.
The association is also alleging that Eagleview Heights does not meet the conditions for the development permit that was subsequently approved by council.
In a press release issued after the petition was filed, community association director William Baker said, “OOCA believes the community was solidly against the bylaw amendment due to the significant density increase being sought by the developer… They were relying on a selective portion of the OCP and hoping Town council would grant them a zoning amendment without applying the overall density limits. Despite numerous requests by OOCA to apply these limits, council chose instead to approve the developer’s application.”
The Town and the developer filed separate responses earlier this month and both reject the argument that the zoning violates the OCP or that there was anything improper in the process.
In its response, EDP questions whether the community association speaks for a wide range of residents. “The vast majority of feedback that EDP has received from residents and businesses in Gibsons with respect to the development has been positive,” its court filing says while going on to say most of the opposition “has been voiced by the residents of three houses that are directly adjacent to the property,” including Baker and the other directors of the OOCA.
EDP also claims it has spent between $7 and 8 million on the project so far and has pre-sale contracts and deposits in hand for some of the units and that it would “suffer significant prejudice and loss if it is required to abandon the development.”
“Given that EDP followed the proper process for approval of the new application and the current design by council, and council approved the zoning amendment bylaw after significant consultation with EDP,” it was reasonable to expect the development would proceed, the company response says.
“The losses to the EDP Group if this court grants the relief sought in this petition will be catastrophic of the EDP Group and its continuing operations,” the company’s lawyers claim.
The hearing has been scheduled for BC Supreme Court in Vancouver on July 4 and 5.
