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
The problem was that the community didn't agree. Murmurs filled the room. The buildings are too big. It's a wetland, anyway. And what about our waterfront? Who owns that? Marshall, unprepared for the backlash, fielded what questions he could, handed off to Gillies when needed, promised another open house, then called this one to a merciful close.
Two months later, Marshall welcomed another 300 people to the first official public hearing on the Shoal Bay proposal. The second open house (or fifth, depending on who's counting) had already taken place, with 150 showing up. The public hearing was the only chance locals had to speak their mind in front of town council before it voted. This time, Marshall was prepared. He'd booked the Gibsons Legion, the only facility he was sure could accommodate the expected numbers. Of the 45 locals who got up to speak, almost 40 were against the development. They didn't want what they called an "elephant" taking over their prized waterfront. Though they acknowledged Gillies's willingness to adapt to Marshall's demands, they weren't happy with the process. They wanted a say before any plans were made or negotiations took place. The following week, four of the five councillors (including the mayor), despite their support for the development, voted the project down. The town was open to a new proposal, an exhausted Marshall told an equally exhausted Gillies, but the current one just wouldn't do.
Soon after, we meet in Marshall's town-hall office. I was one of many townspeople to feel relief at council's decision, I tell him. He winces. Marshall likens his job to that of his brother, who works for a global nonprofit brokering deals between rebel armies and governments. He can spend years on any one deal, only to watch it shatter in a matter of minutes. "It hurts," Marshall says, half laughing, half serious. "That's kind of how I feel."
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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
