Road access, ecosystem preservation and housing needs were points of contention raised by the more than two dozen speakers at the Gospel Rock public hearing held on May 23. The event, which saw a turnout of more than 200 people at the Gibsons Legion, was organized following the second reading of the Gospel Rock Village project.
Developer Greenlane Homes intends to build 360 units on Block 7, including 36 purpose-built rental apartments, as well as townhouses, single-family homes and business spaces. The build would occur in three phases.
In attendance was Mayor Wayne Rowe and councillors Charlene Sanjenko, Stafford Lumley and Silas White, as well as Town of Gibsons staff members.
Several Elphinstone residents expressed concern that construction traffic could congest Pratt Road, which is currently the only access road to the site of the proposed development.
“Truckloads of cleared logs, concrete, lumber, truss packages, sheeting, cladding, roofing, blacktop insulation, masonry, retaining wall, landscaping aggregates, the excavators, back hoes, concrete pumpers required to build four- to five-storey buildings with underground parking lots … would all go down Pratt Road,” said Elphinstone resident John Rule. “How can there be a proposal for further development without the routes to support traffic at the onset?”
Lorne Lewis, Sunshine Coast Regional District director for Elphinstone, asked council to consider turning Shaw into a through road, which would allow the construction traffic to stay within the Town of Gibsons, as well as improve emergency and other services. He also said he had safety concern because of the proximity of Cedar Grove School to the unmarked Pratt and Chaster intersection.
The Town’s policy is that the Pratt Road access can be used by the development up to a maximum of 250 units, which is estimated to take eight years to build.
While most who spoke about access were united in their opposition to increased traffic down Pratt Road, speakers were divided on the issue of the environment. One development condition is that 10 per cent of the property will be preserved as a park, including the waterfront, Cross Rock and Little Africa, while a covenant or a stewardship agreement with a nature conservation group will allow 36 per cent of the property to remain green space.
Some, like Suzanne Pemberton, called Gospel Rock “our Stanley Park” and the development a “crime against nature” and a “breach of public trust.” She called on the Town to purchase the property to preserve it as a park. Her remarks received applause.
Gibsons resident and Sunshine Coast Conservation Association chair Lee Ann Johnson, however, said the group “would like very much and approve this proposal.” The association would be a secondary covenant holder under the proposal and a steward for the area. She said the project would relieve taxpayers while providing permanent protection to the rare Coastal Western Hemlock Extra Dry Maritime ecosystem. “It is exceedingly rare because it has the misfortune to grow in places where people like to live – on rocky slopes with beautiful views near the water.”
A handful of people also spoke out in support of the project, including James Wood. “As a young person growing up in this community I’ve realized we need development, we need houses,” said the Roberts Creek resident, who owns property on Pratt Road and across from the development. He was the only person heckled by the audience. “The Sunshine Coast started as a small little community, and that’s the way that I feel a lot of people here would like to see this place stay.”
Of written submissions from 22 people, 14 were opposed, six were in favour and two were neutral.
