(by Newsdesk) The meeting is open and starts at 10:30 at the Daffadowndilly Gallery in Gibsons Landing. Owner Ji Yongqiang intends to build about 350 townhouses and four-storey apartments on Block 7 of Gospel Rock.
Ji has engaged consultancy firm MODUS for a dialogue with the Friends of Gospel Rock, For the Love of Gospel Rock, and the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association.
MODUS senior urban planner Edward Porter will lead the discussion on April 4.
On February 16, MODUS principal Rob Barrs came to Gibsons for a first round of discussion with the Society for the Love of Gospel Rock and the Friends of Gospel Rock. A number of people at the meeting expressed concerns about the building plans.
“I am here to listen and report your ideas and concerns back to the owner,” Barrs said. “It is in everyone’s interest if development can happen in a sensitive way.”
Barrs is familiar with Gospel Rock; he worked with the Town of Gibsons on an earlier version of the Gospel Rock Neighbourhood Plan in 2006–2007, when Glen Bryson owned the property.
Ji Yongqiang lives in China; his son recently moved to Vancouver. The family had no prior ties to the Sunshine Coast. Block 7 is the first property they have acquired in Canada, Barrs said. “He bought it in good faith. The OCP allowed for development, so he expected to do that. He was not aware it was controversial. But he does know now, because Edward Porter and I told him,” Barrs said.
The proposed development will be medium density residential, with townhouses and four-storey apartments, but no high-rises.
The meeting on February 16, which was attended by 18 people, started with two videos: Help Save Gospel Rock , and Loretta Macklam’s For the Love of Gospel Rock, which is available at www.gospelrock.ca.
Ji is aware that the community does not want waterfront development, Barrs said. “There is always a possibility that the waterfront will be built on, but our firm is strongly encouraging the owner to stick with the OCP, or to improve on it, and there seems to be some reception to that.”
“We can possibly improve on the OCP. For instance, the protected park area at the cross on the top, which presently is very small, could be made bigger,” he said.
Dan Bouman, president of the Friends of Gospel Rock Society, proposed that Ji give the waterfront and the environmentally significant slopes to a trust, or enter into a covenant that these areas will not be used for development.
Barrs said he would take Bouman’s suggestion back to Ji.
Sharon Danroth, head of the Society for the Love of Gospel Rock, made a passionate plea not to build on the property at all. “We want the whole piece to be preserved as a park for the community,” she said. “We propose he sell it to us. Give us a timeframe to raise the money, and it will be preserved forever for his children, our children. Ji can make himself a local hero. We will honour him—forever. He can become the Lord Stanley of Gibsons. We can even name the park after him. He came to Canada to make his fortune—this is his chance to do good.”
Gibsons could be a great tourist destination with Gospel Rock as its own Stanley Park, local historian Dale Peterson said. “Here is a win-win-situation: Ji gets his money back, and generations to come will benefit. Let’s make Gibsons great again.”
“I am sympathetic to that, and I will discuss that with Ji,” Barrs said. But he thinks it is a difficult proposition for a person who just bought a property to develop. “It’s a lot to ask, really. Developers want to make a profit. Also, I wonder how realistic it is to raise more than $6 million in a small community like this. But I will sow the seed.”
“He can develop somewhere else,” Danroth remarked.
Annemarie De Andrade of the Society for the Love of Gospel Rock suggested that it would take only a few people with lots of money to buy Block 7 for a park.
About the proposals of the two societies, Barrs remarked: “This developer is reasonable and has listened to our advice so far. It may not be perfect. But you have to decide—will you oppose the development no matter what, or will you achieve some gains?”
“The OCP was a betrayal to us,” Danroth said. Two others at the meeting said development would be “contentious” and that the process could be “confrontational.”
“It’s not going to be nice,” Danroth concluded.
“Owners have tried to develop this property since 1937,” Peterson pointed out. “I have personally experienced this since the seventies. We are tired of the continuing conflicts. There is lots of land elsewhere in B.C. without controversy, and cheaper to develop.”
Several people expressed concern over increased traffic with development. The OCP allows for 1,103 housing units in the Gospel Rock neighbourhood. Barrs estimated that roughly one third will be built on Block 7. The OCP states that Shaw Road will eventually have to be extended to connect Gospel Rock with the rest of Gibsons. Until 250 units are built, Pratt and Chaster will be the only access to the area.
Another concern was the cost of development to the Town. Recent studies have shown that for every tax dollar generated by a new development, the local government has to spend $1.30 on infrastructure and related costs. Once Gibsons’ population reaches 5,000, the town will have to pay for its own police force.
Barrs admitted he was not sure where the necessary water for the new housing units would come from. He said the owner is aware that development will cost millions of dollars.
Barrs said that MODUS will organize a public meeting in the spring before Ji makes a development application to the Town of Gibsons.
Ji has set up Greenlane Homes to develop Gospel Rock Village. See www.gospelrockvillage.com.
The Society for the Love of Gospel Rock can be reached at forthelove@gospelrock.ca
The Friends of Gospel Rock Society can be reached through
A fresh strong breeze is bringing in new and exiting points of view to the Sunshine Coast! Congratulations to the team and a wish for much success with this venture .
350 townhouses and apartments that is awesome! That ought to help put a dent in the low vacancy rate. I can’t remember the details from the last A and B options but I though both of them had waaay to little density. This seems much better. Maybe young people can finally find a place to live when they move here. Did he mention any dates about when they would be built?