A council decision on third reading of the phased development agreement was postponed again at a special council meeting Tuesday night.
The public hearing on the bylaw, necessary for the $15 million deal on the 100 acres of Oceanfront Lands to close, was also recessed.
The agreement ties the current and future councils to land use set out in the deal in return for amenities from the developer Newport Beach Development, such as the waterfront park, a sailing centre, boat launch and $150,000 in public art.
The sticking point with the bylaw has been industry leaders’ request for strong covenants to protect industry from complaints by future residents because of noise, dust and vibrations caused by industrial operations. The leaders also want noise-proofing in building designs.
New covenants were drawn up after consultation with the Squamish Terminals representatives since the public hearing last Tuesday, but district staff said there hasn’t been enough time for all involved, including the public, to have a look at the new documents.
Councillor Jason Blackman-Wulff voted against the postponement.
The public hearing will continue at Municipal Hall on August 25 at 6 p.m.
Development charges bylaw passes
The third reading of the development cost charges (DCC) bylaw passed council Tuesday night, for the second time. The Inspector of Municipalities kicked back to council the first version of the bylaw, which sets out costs charged to new developments to cover infrastructure such as roads and sewers to accommodate growth in the district. At issue were the industrial rates, park costs, exemption of university lands and interest collection as drawn out in the document.
District staff modified the document to increase the industrial rate to please the inspector; some park costs such as turf fields were removed, thus lowering the residential rate; and a motion from council was made for interest collection as required.
The outstanding issue of Quest University’s exemption from DCCs is being worked out with Quest because it can’t be dealt with in the bylaw, according to district staff. Quest was promised the exemption when the university was founded. The bylaw now goes back to the inspector for a second look. If accepted, it will return to council for final adoption.
