On Monday, municipal planning consultant Judy McLeod presented Council with her recommendations for zoning amendments pertaining to the development of lot #2 of Bowen Island's "community lands" in the upper portion of Snug Cove. While councillors seemed to agree on the overall plan, the issue of parking led to a debate on what it would mean to create a "walkable" Snug Cove.
Lot #2, as presented by McLeod, will be divided up into three parts: part one will be for mixed-use buildings, part two for residential townhouse units, and part three for a "community campus" that would likely house a municipal hall, a daycare and community recreation facilities.
While McLeod did recommend making additions to the Official Community Plan with regards to this land, the ideas of creating density, walkability and affordability within Snug Cove, as stated within the 2011 plan, remain intact.
Townhouse units would be one aspect of the housing development, but apartment buildings, as high as four storeys, could also built on lot #2.
Councillor Wolfgang Duntz mentioned that it was unlikely that there would be enough space on the lot to provide enough parking for every apartment unit.
Onlooker Don Youngson mentioned that parking could be critical, especially if the buildings are geared toward providing housing for seniors.
"My father is 91 years old and is frankly better at driving than walking," said Youngson. "I think we need to keep in mind that many older people are similar. They're also going to have friends who want to come visit, and they'll have cars as well."
On that point, McLeod noted that in seniors residences in Surrey where parking spaces had been created for each unit, the spaces were not being used.
Councillor Daron Jennings said the geography of lot #2 makes it better for housing people than cars, and Councillor Alison Morse said that creating co-op car stalls has proven to be an adequate replacement for parking in other locations.
Councillor Andrew Stone argued that there are no co-op cars on Bowen.
"Comparing Bowen to places like Toronto, Vancouver or Surrey makes no sense," said Stone. "People in these places have access to huge public transportation networks that people on Bowen just don't have."
Councillor Duntz, who had previously stated that "we will never get affordable, convenient public transportation if we all insist on driving everywhere," argued at length with Stone.
"If we want to be special, and not just another suburb of Vancouver then we need to be willing to do something different. We have to be willing to say, here are the limitations, if you're willing to live with that. We need a bigger vision for Bowen... Is the walkable village just a fancy term we use, or do we mean it?"
Council will vote on amendments to the OCP and Land Use Bylaw suggested by McLeod at the next council meeting.
