CALL TO ACTION: OCP Public Hearing

Gibsons Council has given second reading to the latest draft of the revised Official Community Plan (OCP) and scheduled a public hearing for March 10, 2015, at 7 p.m. at the Gibsons Legion.

There is a lot we can and will say about the OCP “update” process but it boils down to this:

  • the terms of reference for the OCP Steering Committee and the mandate for this review have not been satisfied;
  • the mayor falsely led the community to believe that revisions to the document would be nothing more than “minor tweaks”; and
  • in fact, key clauses that protect our village scale and character have been reworded, strategically re-categorized, and, in some cases, removed altogether.

The town can only enforce the rules that are actually written in their Official Community Plan and bylaws. Our OCP used to contain specific wording that would protect the scale and character, density, and views in the harbour. Now it doesn’t.

Why would the Town of Gibsons go backwards and water down our OCP? How could this possibly benefit us? Are you willing to sit back and watch this happen, or will you defend your Official Community Plan?

Call to Action:

Attend the Public hearing:

Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 7 p.m. Gibsons Legion, 747 Gibsons Way Bring a friend. Wear your button

Make written submissions to the formal hearing process:

Submissions must be written and delivered between February 17 and March 10 by the end of the public hearing. Because more than one issue is at stake, pick the one(s) that concern you. If more than one concerns you, write individual submissions on each topic and send them each in. (They will be counted.)

See examples of documents to borrow (adapt or cut and paste) from here: 

Join Gibsons Waterfront Defence Association: Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Donate to the legal defence fund: GABC is holding donations in trust on behalf of the Friends of the Harbour legal defence group. Mail donations to Box 1931, Gibsons, BC V0N 1V0. Cheques should be made out to GABC, with “Friends of the Harbour” and/or “Legal Defence Fund” on the memo line.