Feature Stories
Trouble In Paradise - continued
By Chad Hershler published Mar 1, 2009
A Gibsons condo development hangs in the balance as citizens fight to retain the small-town character that brought them to the Sunshine Coast in the first place
He pulls out the project's specs: over 15 pages of architectural drawings and a three-inch stack of bylaws, environmental studies, notes, and recommendations. He walks me through the drawings, lingering on some of the more controversial points: the four storeys (the maximum allowed) that were actually five starting from the waterfront, the sloped roof, the holes drilled into the aquifer. Each represents hours of paperwork and negotiation. But this was the technical side of the proposal: the rest-how to make it fit with the town's image-he had to leave to the town itself. "Even if all the guidelines were met," he says, "the one thing I couldn't tell people is it does or it doesn't meet the small-village character." He looks up, catches my eye. A flicker of a weary smile: "It didn't."
Back in December 2007, the conference room at the Cedars Inn in Upper Gibsons was packed with over 150 townspeople, and another 60 waited outside. Marshall had expected a few to show up for the open house, but nothing like this. Developer Grant Gillies had already held three poorly attended open houses (some blamed limited advertising); one, in tandem with the news that a hotel might be built at the sailing club next door, gave rise to a rumour that Gillies was building the condo development and the hotel-a rumour that ran wild, leaving Gillies looking every bit the big city, big money developer without a conscience. A small but growing coalition of citizens responded by postering the town and writing letters to the local paper publicizing this open house.
While Gillies (mid 40s, golf shirt, khakis; doing his best to blend in) sat on a bench in the front row, Marshall (early 40s, glasses, equally casual) presented the 40-minute slide show. Gillies's Target Developments was applying to turn two prime waterfront lots-zoned for a few single-family dwellings and a motel-into 109 condominiums. It was a lot to ask, but Marshall was demanding a lot in return. A new provision by the town council, backed up by legislation in Victoria, gave Marshall the power to negotiate with Gillies even before he applied to council for rezoning approval. In other words, Marshall had what every town planner dreams of: leverage. Through the fall, he and Gillies had hammered out one of the most progressive development proposals Gibsons had ever seen: a car co-op, a public walkway, sleek eco-density design, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, a $600,000 contribution toward affordable housing along with a $75,000 contribution to parks and public art. The fact that Marshall was up there, standing in front of his town, presenting this proposal on behalf of a developer, meant the process was working. Yes, this was a major condominium development that might turn Lower Gibsons-and its waterfront-into something new, but in Marshall's opinion, "It's good for the community."
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Had the Shoal Bay proposal gone ahead in June 2008, Grant Gillies would have been up to his ears pre-selling units in his Shoal Bay development in order to finance his project, just as the real estate market bottomed out. As we hear daily news reports of Vancouver developers dragging desperate pre-sold condo buyers to court for more than just their down payments, you could say that the Gibsons community saved our neighbourhood from a real estate meltdown that might have financially ruined the senior citizens looking to retire in the only development with an elevator in Gibsons. Heck, you could even say that the citizens of Gibsons Landing saved Mr. Gillies from potential financial disaster. You never know, maybe Grant would say your welcome after all? ;} Suzanne
