One more obstacle has popped up for the Red Point development. On Tuesday (Nov. 6) council passed a motion to consider the impacts the high-density residential project would have on Smoke Bluffs Park.
The recommendation came out of a Smoke Bluffs Park Committee meeting on Oct. 4, involving planning director Cameron Chalmers. "Any additional density to the neighbourhood will have an impact both positive and negative," he said.
The committee's motion requests the park impacts be considered "before approving any development in the Blind Channel area."Coun. Raj Kahlon said a boost in visitors would not necessarily hurt the park, but would require planning.
"What does district have to budget down the road for washrooms and benches?" he asked.
Kingswood Properties has faced many hurdles in developing Red Point. Council has failed to agree on a safe entrance to the development off Highway 99.Kingswood president Lorne Segal said the company is trying to do all it can to keep the community happy.
"We've got lots of things that are going on and trying to deal with all the community interests in general has been a complicated process in the least."
He said he was not aware of the motion, but hopes an arrangement can be made to prepare it for increased use.
"Of course the Smoke Bluffs are an important part of the community, so I guess it's reasonable to look at the impact of it," Segal said.
Staff at Red Point appear to have confidence in the project despite its struggles for council approval.Tradesmen from the community say they've been approached by recruiters for contractors hired by Red Point, told a tentative work date is set for December.
The construction management company, Timberline Construction Group Western in North Vancouver has been assigned the Red Point project. Timberline employee, Allison (declining to give her last name) said in an interview with The Chief that the company was "waiting for all the contracts to go through" before moving forward with the project.
She said Timberline would be responsible for supplying a superintendent and project manager for Red Point. These people would subsequently hire tradesmen for the job.Segal said he was unaware that any steps toward recruiting had occurred.
"We are not in a position to start anything on this project. We've got a ways to go before we can look at hiring anyone."
