Citizens group asks town to save trees in Winegarden Park

Gibsons Waterfront Defence Association calls tree destruction due to construction of the George unacceptable, asks town to protect the trees

The Gibsons Waterfront Defence Association has written a letter to Gibsons council to express concern about the loss of trees in Winegarden Park due to construction of the George project:

“Dear Mayor Beamish and Councillors De Andrade, Croal, Ladwig, and Lumley: 

We would like to draw your attention to the increasing mortality rate of trees in the town of Gibsons. The past year has seen much stress on the natural asset embodied in our trees. The razing of the trees at Gospel Rock and Eaglecrest has led many citizens to question whether the town is doing enough to protect our natural assets. And the recent decision to allow the loss of two trees on Glassford Road, due apparently to the absence of a Gibsons tree protection policy, has added to the concern and raised fears about the future of all trees in Gibsons. 

In regard to the two trees on Glassford Road, we agree with the position of the town’s staff who in their November 5, 2019, staff report stated, “Retaining the trees would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the town’s eco asset strategy” (page 3 of 3, first sentence), and “When designing and siting a building it is always necessary to work around infrastructure, terrain, and other features. As these trees are town assets staff are of the opinion that they should (and can be) accommodated and worked around.” (page 16 of 55). 

Our members place great value on our town’s natural assets for their contribution to the well-being of Gibsons residents. Winegarden Park is a prime example. Its central waterfront location, its use as a popular concert and event venue, and its visual charm make it one of the most valuable assets Gibsons has. Our organization formed in the spring of 2015 and our first public event, “A Celebration of Winegarden Park,” was held in the park on Sunday, May 15, 2015. 

Among the park’s many attributes is a line of trees, bushes, ferns, and other undergrowth on the banks of a small stream along the park’s southern boundary. These flora are well established and form part of the stream’s ecosystem. They not only mitigate climate change by capturing carbon; they also provide nesting areas for the park’s birds, homes for small animals, and refuge for a local deer herd. 

Among the trees found in this location are five mature conifers, one of which is a grand fir with a trunk diameter at waist height of 40 cm. Several vine maples and thirteen alders of varying size add to the ecological value. Some of the alders have attained heights of over 18 metres (60 feet) and diameters at chest height of over 60 centimetres (2 feet+). 

We ask that the present mayor and council act to protect our park by saving these vital trees from being lost to us just to accommodate a private developer. 

Town documents show that at one time these trees did have a defender on the town’s staff. Town Planner André Boel in May of 2013 wrote a 14-page letter to developer Klaus Fuerniss outlining the town’s concerns vis-à-vis the proposal submitted by Fuerniss for a development he planned on the property adjacent to the south property line of Winegarden Park. Several of Boel’s comments included concerns for the safety of the park’s trees and the stream running through that area:

Excerpt #1 – Development’s use of park and lack of setbacks. Page 5: 

“8) Winegarden Park – The building has a zero setback from the park, and does not provide any on-site landscaping adjacent to the park. Portions of the building (such as the bar/lounge) have outside seating overlooking the park. While the pedestrian links from the hotel to the park provide permeability, the overall development plan appears to use Winegarden Park as open space to serve the development, rather than provide its own (more typical) on-site open space through reduced site coverage and appropriate building setbacks. Overlooking of the park space by the hotel/apartment reduces its value and functioning as a community space and natural park area. The building setbacks needs to be reconsidered to ensure the public realm is protected, and the park space is not overwhelmed by the hotel/apartment building.” 

Excerpt #2 – Impact of excavations on tree roots and stream. Page 7: 

“The applicant (geotechnical engineers) should identify how construction will affect Winegarden Park and any mitigation measures proposed. It is unclear whether excavation will affect existing tree root zones, whether retaining walls are required, how the stream will be protected.” 

We note that Boel wanted revisions to the setbacks to give a minimum of 4.5 metres of setback from Winegarden Park in order to prevent tree and stream losses.  

Excerpt #3 – Need for increased setback. Page 9: 

“1. Revisions to the building scale and massing to conform with OCP policies and DPA guidelines with respect to scale of development. Revisions should include fewer storeys, as well as increased building setbacks and greater extent of terracing; 

2. Revisions to the building siting to provide a minimum 4.5m setback from Winegarden Park.” 

Excerpt #4 – Concerns about impact on park trees and stream. Page 10: 

“1) This development will impact the trees in Winegarden Park bordering the property line. 

2) Drainage impacts on non fish bearing water course bordering Winegarden Park and proposed development site. Will further works to this water course be required?”  

Other documents show that on November 15, 2013, a meeting at council chambers adopted the minutes of the Advisory Planning Commission (APC) meeting held October 18, 2013. 

Despite the 4.5m setback revision request in Boel’s letter, no increase to setback was included in the developer’s redesign, and some members of the APC had concerns with that fact. Two excerpts from that meeting:  

Excerpt A – Zero setback a concern. Page 6: 

“Discussion ensued with respect to setbacks as follows: Winegarden Park is a 0 setback, basically using the park as setback which some members of the Commission have concern with;“ 

Excerpt B – More work needed on park impact. Page 9: 

“More work needs to be done regarding the impact on Winegarden Park, consideration should be given to the town having control of the redesign of the park; Mr. Philips responded that the proponents [sic] landscaping designer will be working closely with the town in the redesign of Winegarden Park.” 

Further research of town documents indicates that the need for tree and stream protection in Winegarden Park was dropped from public discussion. Despite the concerns expressed in the Boel letter, the town decided to allow the developer to actually increase the negative impact on the park’s trees and stream by granting him leave to excavate 3 metres beyond his own property, into the park. This will result in complete tree destruction at the south side of the park and the desecration of the stream’s ecosystem. These results are unacceptable to the Gibsons Waterfront Defence Association. 

The decision to allow the developer’s transgression into the park was formalized in a July 28, 2015, staff report to council. Page 4: 

“During the construction period of residential building [sic], a 3m wide strip in Winegarden Park will be needed to accommodate excavation and construction. Details of the construction will be provided to the town in a management plan at the time of the building permit.” 

Critical root zones for trees are six times the trunk diameter of the tree measured at chest height. This would give a no-go zone from the largest trees in the park of 3.96 metres. If this zone was adhered to, the trees could survive, as is evidenced in the arborist report on page 2 in this Town of Gibsons staff report. 

The decision to allow the carving out of a 3-metre construction zone will mean that those trees along the southern park property line, instead of being protected from harm as was noted as a requirement by Mr. Boel in 2013, will be destroyed. We strongly condemn this bad decision and urge the new mayor and council to resist losing our perfectly healthy park trees, thereby inflicting irreparable damage on a valuable eco-asset. 

We also point out that section 29(1) of the Community Charter disallows such behaviour. “Land in a municipality that is dedicated to the public for the purposes of a park or a public square by a subdivision plan, explanatory plan deposited in the land title office is vested in the municipality for that purpose” and in section 30(5) “Bylaws adopted or works undertaken by a council that directly affect property reserved or dedicated under this section must be consistent with the purpose for which the property is reserved or dedicated.” (Italics ours) 

In closing we ask mayor and council to ally themselves with the 11,258 scientists from 153 countries who, on November 5, 2019, declared that planet earth would suffer dire consequences unless human attitudes and behaviour change immediately. Six seriously needed changes to our human behaviours are contained within the report. Among them is the section entitled “Nature,” which opens with the statement, “We must protect and restore earth’s ecosystems” and further states, “We need to quickly curtail habitat and biodiversity loss.”

Further, the United Nations has launched The Billion Tree campaign with the aim of spurring all of us, from the largest of corporations to the smallest of community groups, to get on board and work to restore our planet’s tree population. 

We at GWDA are willing and hereby attempting to do our part. Can we count on you to do yours? 

Yours sincerely, 

Gibsons Waterfront Defence Association”