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MINUTES
CITYGATE MEETING WITH CITY STAFF MARCH 16, 2005
(Printer
version)
In attendance: Michael Gordon, Senior Area
Planner - Downtown
Phil Mondor, City Re-zoning Dept.
Karima Mulji, P. Eng.,City of Vancouver, Special Projects
Brian Crowe, P. Eng., City of Vancouver
Chris Gillham, Concord Pacific
Regrets: Jim Lowden, Park Board area supervisor
Citygate Focus Group: Patsy McMillan, Chair
John Murray, Bruce Lovell, Dave Peterson, Devon Knight, Jacquie Rauh, Ted
McGrath, Martin Collacott, Matt Taylor, Cam Lowry, Christina Hallonquist,
Warren Lowe, Rick Lam(Chinatown Revitilization Committee), Amita Daniels (
False Creek Community Assoc. and The Creek), Merv Therriault (False Creek
South Neighbourhood Assoc.)
Minutes taken by Merv Therriault, Chair, False Creek South Neighbourhood
Association
Patsy welcomed and introduced guests and asked questions
that City staff and Concord Pacific would, hopefully, provide answers.
These questions had been forwarded to them in advance of the meeting.
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Will the contaminated "special waste"soils from 6A be
stockpiled on the park site?
No. The soils from 6A will be moved to 6C, sorted and catagorized,
then shipped to the
appropriate destination. Lot 6A will contain 714 units including 1
non-market building.
No partner yet for the social housing site. Will we have to wait for
that site to be developed as well before the park can be developed?
Soils from 6C will be moved to the future park site when( and if ) 6C
is developed and not before.
-
How will this affect our homes and general
environment?
All of the remediation work will be done in accordance with WCB
regulations so this should not affect the environment. * The
remediation plan for each parcel of land has to be
approved by the Provincial Gov't. A copy of these plans is available
at the Vancouver Public Library. This plan does not show where the
soil is going only the method of remediation. 6C is not considered to
be "off site" but a transfer and sorting zone. If there are
complaints about the dust, etc. the city will deal with them on an
individual complaint basis.
-
When will this happen and for how long?
From the lot 6A site the soils will be moved starting in May 2005 and
will be ongoing for 6 - 8 mos. Hopefully within 10 mos. that process
will be completed and the concrete building will be evident.
-
How high will the future park elevation be once the
soils are deposited there?
There is an estimate that it will be 3 metres higher in some areas.
There is a plan for an elevated amphitheatre at one end of the park
which may take up a lot of the soils. We are still awaiting the park
design plan.
-
Will the soil be covered? Yes, if there is any
concern. Some of the soils will not be contaminated, only stored for
sorting, so they will not need to be covered. Will be considered to
be like any other "construction site". Expect some dirt and dust!
Only those soils that are considered to injurious to health, via
airborne sources, will be covered in accordance with WCB rules. There
will be environmental testing and sampling but no treatment on site.
They are still not sure exactly how much contaminated soil "special
waste" is in the 6C site. Only an approximate 19,800 cubic metres.
Will not know for sure until test holes are done by Dillon
Consulting, Pacific Place Remediation Plan as well as looking at the
historical industrial use of these lands.
-
Will the soil remediation affect the pathway along
the water and the public's use of it?
There will be the usual concern for public safety so the pathway may
be detoured along Pacific Blvd. temporarily ( similar to George
Wainbourn Park detour) but there will, in the end, be a new
shoreline.
-
Why can't the shoreline and some of the south portion
of the park be built in advance similar to the advance portion of
Cooper's Park?
Too dependent on the park design and the soils storage requirement.
As well the containment barrier should be all of one piece so there
is no possible source of contaminant leakage into the Creek.
-
How long will this take? When will the development of
6C happen?
Now there is the question of the re-zoning of the Plaza of Nations
for residential development. If this happens the park site may need
to be used for events! Also there is no firm plans for the park site
to be used for the Olympics. Some talks going on now regarding its
use for "back of house" for the Olympics and/or security concerns for
2010. The Olympics being stage here are "in city" rather than "out of
town" as they were in the USA so this poses a particular "space"
problem for the city.
-
What if it does not happen ever?
According to Michael Gordon "it is inconceivable that Concord Pacific
would walk away from a possible multi million dollar project" but it
may not happen until after the Olympics. It takes several years to
re-zone, get dev. permits and then begin construction. It takes at
least 18 months for each tower to be built and there is a possible 5
or 6 towers proposed for 6C. ( You do the math! 5 years is just not
long enough to develop 6C and the park site). The Nelson St./Cambie
St. bridghead will be developed before 6C anyway.
-
Billboards for Cooper's Quay (6A site) state "LAST
DOWNTOWN WATERFRONT UNDER $1 MILLION" . Is this REALLY the LAST
development as we think is it might be or just false advertising or a
big hype on the part of Concord Pacific? Sales ploy or truth? Concord
is now at buildout plus 100,000 square feet with their 6A project. If
they do not decide to develop 6C then there will be no Creekside
Park.
Patsy asked about a paragraph in an April 13, 1993
Environment Policy Report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act
that states that "if the cost of providing the buildings or facilities in
the location affected by contaminants is so great as to be
disproportionate to the locational benefit, then an alternate site would
be considered with the Province compensating the City for the locational
disadvantage arising out of such alternate site". Sounds interesting
doesn't it?
All of the city attendees seemed truly surprised by that
paragraph. Brian Crowe said he would try to get a copy of that report in
order to respond to that paragraph's intent. There was also a suggestion
made by Phil Mondor that there had been some talk of allowing Concord to
build in the middle of the park site where there is less contamination
which would then split the large park site into two smaller sites on
either side. The Park Board is not in favour of this option. As stated
before there are now land use discussions occurring between the City,
Concord Pacific and the Province for the last remaining parcels and the
future of BC Place.
Chris Gillham was asked why someone from Concord was not
present at this meeting to answer development timetable for this land and
he replied that "he had ( unfortunately) picked the short straw" so he was
who we got. It was at this point in the meeting that Chris Gillham said he
was the "infrastructure and sewers person" with Concord Pacific. When
asked at the beginning of the meeting what his title was he would not say.
"I just work for Concord" was all he would say.
AFTER THE MEETING:
Amita Daniels who attended on behalf of the False Creek
Community Association is also the editor/publisher of The Creek monthly
newspaper. She has written a front page article on this issue in the April
2, 2005 edition. Anyone wanting a copy they are usually available in your
building lobby, possibly in the mail room area.
Patsy has requested and received a copy of the agreement
entered into regarding Section F of the re-zoning application which
recommends that Concord enter into an agreement for the design of
Creekside Park in consultation with area residents. This appears to be the
much larger agreement for Cooper's Park and the subsequent delivery of
that park to the city. Only one small mention of anything to do with
Creekside Park in this 90 page document.
Michael Gordon has said that 5B (the Cambie Bridgehead)
next to BC Place will be moving forward shortly and that may include the
development of the seawall walkway as part of that permit. He said they
have be "listening to the area residents'concerns" and that part of a loaf
is better than no loaf at all. Mr. Gordon also said that we, as a
community, are doing the "right thing" by continuing our efforts to hold
the city accountable.
Cam Lowry wrote a very good, informative letter laying out
all of the concerns and the players surrounding this contentious issue. It
has been forwarded to Frances Bula, civic reporter for The Vancouver Sun,
who has been in touch with Patsy. So far she is still investigating but we
are hopeful that this will appear in the paper, even in a condensed form,
very soon. If not we will send it out to a variety of other factions to
see who picks it up. We are not going to be silent any longer.
I am hoping to have an Inter-tower meeting in the next couple of weeks. I
have been working in my husband's office during tax season so my time has
been more limited. Please sign up for the "KEEP VANCOUVER SPECTACULAR"
event Chinatown Cleanup which also includes our area on Sunday May 1, at
9:30 am. We will meet beforehand and go over as a group. Always fun and a
good community spirited thing to do.
Thanks for helping to make our neighbourhood Great!
Patsy McMillan
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