Snug Cove Planning and Ferry Marshalling History Prepared by Alison Morse, May 2012 (Revised June 1 and July 7, 2012)

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1 Snug Cove Planning and Ferry Marshalling History Prepared by Alison Morse, May 2012 (Revised June 1 and July 7, 2012) Snug Cove Task Force, One of the first things the first council did in April 2000 was to establish the Snug Cove Task Force chaired by Mike Lightbody. The committee went through a public process, with questionnaires, public information meetings etc and delivered its final report dated January 2001 A Snug Cove Vision to Council in February That report contained a Vision statement as well as a series of steps or recommendations laid out in a chronological order for action. The last section of the report was on Impediments to a Successful Plan with the first section being Political Will which said There has in the past been a lack of political will or ability to implement previous Snug Cove Plans. There have been a number of committees struck over the last twenty years.but very few of their suggestions have been implemented. It is vital for the future of the cove that Council act on the recommendations.. the overriding issue is that Bowen islanders must see that positive action is being undertaken. As a result of this report and subsequent reports of the Planning and Land Use Committee Council resolved to provide resources and engage a planner to take the vision and develop a Snug Cove Plan that could be put into the OCP. Snug Cove Master Plan (OCP) A work program and a draft table of contents were developed in May and June of 2001 a budget was created and draft terms of reference created. The development of the Snug Cove Plan was a long and extensive process and Bylaw 137 was finally adopted on July 11, As part of the process BIM in conjunction with BCF commissioned a Snug Cove Traffic Management Plan, see below. As well an extensive public consultation process was carried out, Community Review of the Snug Cove Village Plan (v5), see below. The result of all of this was the creation of a stand alone document that was appended to the OCP by bylaw 137 in July of An OCP update process commenced in 2009 and as part of that process many of the policies from the Snug Cove Master Plan (SCMP) were imbedded in the OCP document itself and the SCMP was no longer an attachment to the OCP. Council created The Snug Cove Village Plan Policy in May 2011 to ensure that the plan will continue to inform the development of Snug Cove. with%20appendix%20attached).pdf Snug Cove Traffic Management Plan (The McElhanney Report) As part of the development of the SCMP Council wanted to resolve the ferry marshalling issues so they jointly with BCF engaged McElhanney Consulting Service Ltd to develop a traffic management plan to address their respective concerns. The report reviewed existing conditions so it provides information on parking, queuing, traffic and pedestrian movements. The report identified issues and concerns and stakeholder meetings were held. Several concepts were developed and a listing of advantages and disadvantages prepared for each as well as class D cost estimates. The following is the link to the report itself If you go to you will be able to link to each of the concepts presented. After the McElhanney Report was prepared BCF looked at three further options and had McElhanney prepare drawings, advantages and disadvantages and class D cost estimates. Thus 250 of 269

2 options F1, F2 and G were developed. F2 (the loop road) was BCF preferred option. (Hard copies are available to look at) Community Review of the Snug Cove Village Plan (v5) As part of the final stages of the OCP amendment for the SCVP a comprehensive community consultation process was conducted this used the CommunityViz planning tool as well as working with UBC. Murray Journey, Carol MacKinnon and Julian Dunster were engaged to conduct the process. It started with a community workshop in August 2003; a workbook was developed with background information and questions for the community to answer 3 community forums and several community workshops were held and a website developed. A summary of the Community Review Process was presented at a community forum on March The results of the community poll were also presented. The poll indicated a lack of support for the status quo for ferry marshalling as it is now, approximately 55% of the people were opposed to the south side and the loop road. There was modest receptiveness of the idea of a combination of Government Road and a Loop Road for ferry marshalling. Thus the SCVP did not provide a definitive option for ferry marshalling but indicated that the terminal would stay on the north side. Snug Cove Action Plan, Reshaping Snug Cove: a Framework for Action (July 2006) A top priority initiative of the 2006 Council Strategic Plan was to implement the Snug Cove Village Plan. The Snug Cove Action Plan, Reshaping the Cove: a Framework for Action was adopted in July As a result of that plan three task forces were struck: Transportation Working Group Surplus Lands Working Group Civic Facilities Working Group Ferry Marshalling Options for Snug Cove Transportation Working Group, December 2006 Since the Snug Cove Master Plan did not provide definitive direction on ferry marshalling so the Transportation Working Group (TWG) was struck with members from the Bowen Island Ferry Advisory Committee and The Sustainable Community Advisory Committee. The committee was tasked with providing information on all the studies and reports that had been done on ferry marshalling, the relevant policy documents and development of an assessment matrix so that Council would be able to make a decision on ferry marshalling. Their report was presented to Council in January of 2007 and to the public on February 25, 2007 including a two page information sheet. Report Report resource documents as listed in appendix 1 is quite extensive and included the Opus Hamilton Ekistics Report. All the documents can be accessed through this link Power Point Presentation of report of 269

3 The TWG was not required to make a recommendation but it did make the following observation in the conclusion section of the report: Without making a recommendation, it can be observed that the criteria isolated for the final matrix comparison point to a Government Road location for ferry marshalling as the location offering better opportunities for minimizing impacts on the environment, on Crippen Park and on the surplus lands, for enhancing the vitality of the village of Snug Cove, and for flexible, phased implementation in response to growth. Having made this observation, it is important to refer back to the range and variety of ferry marshalling designs possible in the Government Road location, as they differ significantly in their relative impacts and benefits. They were described earlier as follows: 1. On Government and Grafton Roads within existing rights-of-way. 2. Within a multi-lane expansion of Government Road into Crippen Park on the north side; 3. Within Crippen Park close to Government Road but separated from Government Road by a median or by parkland or by commercial/residential properties; 4. Within an expanded Grafton Road with loading and unloading along Government Road; Council at its meeting of May 14, 2007 adopted resolutions and : That Council endorse the findings of the Transportation Working Group s report entitled Ferry Marshalling Options for Snug Cove (December 2006) that the Government Road option be considered as the preferred option with respect to pursuing design solutions for ferry marshalling That Council, in endorsing the Government Road option, recognizes that the solution for ferry marshalling may not necessarily be accommodated within the Government and Grafton Roads rights of way. Opus Hamilton Ekistics Report (The Ekistics Plan) 2006 This report was prepared by CRC as part of their development proposal and included an assessment of Bowen roads and their capacity as well as options for Snug Cove in particular ferry marshalling. The work for this report included an assessment of parking and other existing conditions as well as public information meetings. They made a power point presentation to Council in and presented the Snug Cove Vision and the concept plan A very detailed technical memo was included in the report which analyzed conditions, constraints and a few different options. 0Memo%202%20Sec4.pdf The concept presented was well received and when the Snug Cove Master Plan was commissioned HBBH was instructed to use the Ekistics plan as the basis of the concept for ferry marshalling in the development of the SCMP of 269

4 Bowen Island s Sustainable Future: A Strategy for the Use and Disposition of Municipal Lands In Snug Cove Surplus Lands Working Group May 2007 The surplus lands working group was one of the three groups formed by the Snug Cove Action Plan. Their report was presented to Council on May 17, Their initial recommendations dealt largely with lot 1 as planning for lot 2 and 3 was being held in abeyance until a decision was made on the site for the civic facility. The report includes a report from Paul Rollo and Associates on potential values for the land. When the report was presented a series of drawing with potential site plans were also presented to suggest various concepts for the development of the sites. The recommendations from the report were: With respect to a land disposition strategy, pursue Scenario Two, that includes the sale of Site 1, with a mix of single family lots, market townhouses and apartments, and affordable housing components Commence the process of amending the Official Community Plan and Land Use Bylaw for Site 1, preparing a series of development conditions and then marketing the property to the development community Consider rezoning Site 1 for a total density of approximately 95 units, recognizing that the zoning package should also address density controls through the use of floor area ratio requirements Consider setting aside land within Site 1 to accommodate units of affordable housing on a parcel of approximately 3 acres, meaning that the land would be made available by the Municipality to the developer of the affordable housing at no cost Pursue the upgrading of the sewage treatment plant in order to provide sewage capacity for the future development of Site Refrain from disposing any of Site 2 until the civic facility planning process is completed Refrain from disposing any of Site 3 until there is a better understanding of how Site 3 can be comprehensively planned in the context of the new ferry marshalling strategy and of the linkages and relationships with the adjacent former gas station site, the RCMP site, and the future civic facilities on Site Refrain from disposing of the library lot adjacent to Carter Road in the short term 6.9 Maintain the role of the Surplus Lands Working Group as an advisory body to Council that could assist during the preparation of the Surplus Lands bylaw amendments and the proposal call process Although not endorsed by all Working Group members, it is important for Council to be cognizant of the following recommendations that certain Working Group members felt passionate about and should be pursued by Council: Undertake a new comprehensive overview and vision of Snug Cove and its surroundings, incorporating the ferry marshalling concept (particularly the Ekistics Plan ), the existing municipal policy framework OCP/Snug Cove Plan, the Island's interest in affordable housing, and the Surplus Lands Working Group and the other working groups Consider locating the municipal hall and other community functions on the gas station / RCMP / Site 3 corner in order to create a prominent civic presence with the possibility of a civic square Allocate 25% of the units on the Surplus Lands for affordable housing of 269

5 Council agreed to move forward with sale of lot 1 and adopted resolutions and 136 on June 11, 2007: That Council endorse in principle Recommendation of the Surplus Lands Working Group Report, dated May 2007, including the possibility of accommodating mixed use opportunities; and That Council ask staff to develop a plan to move forward to advance this recommendation with attention to consultation with the community and an outline of the critical path to achieve its implementation and with the recognition, that the development of municipally owned land, should be an example of best practices for social, economic and environmental benefits for the community. That staff be requested to return to Council with a report on how to undertake Recommendation of the Surplus Lands Working Group Report, dated May Bowen Island Community Centre Feasibility Study 2008 Prepared by Hotson Bakker Boniface and Hadden Working with the Civic Facilities Working Group The Civic Facilities Working Group (CFWG) was the third group established under the Snug Cove Action Plan. The Feasibility study presented to Council in 2008 in Chapters 5 and 6 contains an analysis of potential sites and identifies the south end of lot 2 as the preferred site. %20Site%20Options%201-6.pdf %20Site%20Options%207-9.pdf %20Site%20Options% pdf Early in the process the CFWG indentified the need for the site of the community center or civic facilities to be chosen in light of an overall master plan for Snug Cove. This when added to the recommendation from the SLWG resulted in Council engaging HBBH to prepare a Snug Cove Master Plan. Appendix C of the Feasibility study contains the full letter from Coriolis Consulting Corp to HBBH that comments on the development strategy viability for the Civic Facilities and the Surplus Lands. %20Appendix%20A-C.pdf A Sustainable Development Strategic Plan for Bowen Island Municipality Holland Barrs (Holland Barrs Report) 2007 Council engaged Holland Barrs to develop a sustainable strategy for Bowen. The strategy was presented to a joint meeting of Council and the Sustainability Task Force in July of The strategy was utilized in the development of the SCMP. The Snug Cove Action Plan, Reshaping Snug Cove: a Framework for Taking Action Phase 2 (July 2007) The initial phase was largely complete with the delivery of the task force reports. The work contemplated by phase 2 was the Snug Cove Master Plan, the business case and funding and referendum for the civic facilities, the disposition of some of the surplus lands, infrastructure upgrades and ferry marshalling all with a timeline for shovels in the ground by November of 269

6 On July 23, 2007 Council approved moving forward by adopting resolution : 1. That Bowen Island Council endorse in principle Snug Cove Action Plan Reshaping Snug Cove: A Framework for Taking Action (Phase 2) July 2007; 2. That Bowen Island Council inform municipal staff that the implementation of the Phase 2 of the Snug Cove Action Plan be considered a top priority; and 3. That Bowen Island Council request that the funding requirements outlined in the Snug Cove Action Plan be included in preparing the 2008 Budget. The action plan phase two can be found at Snug Cove Master Plan Eco Village in the Park A Blueprint for a Sustainable Island As a result of recommendations from the SLWG and the CFWG Hotson Bakker Boniface and Hadden were engaged to prepare the Snug Cove Master Plan. The Snug Cove Master Plan Working Group was also established to act as a steering committee for the report process. The members included myself, Tim Rhodes, James Tuer and several others. The Holland Barrs sustainability plan for Bowen was considered in the development of the SCMP and Mark Holland worked with HBBH on the SCMP. As well Green Building Guidelines were being developed by E.A.B. Beaird Consulting and Recollective and they contributed to the SCMP. The 152 page report plus executive summary was developed over about a six month period and included community information sessions. The Executive summary can be found at %20Executive%20Summary%20Jan%202008_1.pdf The map of the plan can be found at %20High%20Res%20Plan%20Jan%202008_1.pdf The report was presented to a special committee of the whole on January 24 to which the members of the Advisory Planning Commission, Civic Facilities Working Group, the Sustainability Framework Working Group, Cove Bay Water Management Committee, the Ferry Advisory Committee, the Snug Cove Master Plan Working Group and the Affordable Housing Working Group were invited. Minutes of the meeting are at The report has an excellent summary of relevant planning documents which are also mentioned in this summary. It also assesses the ferry marshalling options against the criteria from the Holland Barrs report and provides a Priority Implementation Plan for the Master Plan which includes comments on accessing private investment, a phasing strategy and a Municipal Plan of Action. The report from the planners Michael Rosen and Jason Smith dated January 18, 2008 that accompanied the presentation of the SCMP report noted 4 possible approaches for dealing with the SCMP. The report in its conclusion noted that there are some very bold initiatives enshrined in the plan to achieve the principles of sustainability to create a compact and complete village in a manner that will retain the character of a village within a park. It also states that taking action on these very bold initiatives is what is ultimately needed, Council and the community should initially consider taking a cautious approach given the magnitude of change that is envisioned Council took the cautious approach and passed the following resolution at the Committee of the Whole meeting of February 8, of 269

7 That the report entitled Snug Cove Master Plan prepared by the Planning Consultant and Planner dated January 18, 2008 be received; And that Council receive for information The Snug Cove Master Plan, Eco-Village in the Park, A Blueprint for a Sustainable Island; And that Council request staff to prepare a resolution proposing that the Snug Cove Master Plan be utilized as a reference document regarding all decision-making pertaining to Snug Cove This resolution was never ratified at a Council meeting and the report was never presented at a public information meeting or reviewed and debated by Council. Plans for Cardena to Ferry Dock Council agreed to push forward with requesting BCF to improve the waiting area and the area from Cardena to the dock. BCF advised that any work they did needed to be part of an approved terminal master plan and that meant deciding on what would happen west of Cardena as well as east of Cardena. The end result was the volunteer construction of the covered shelter on the south dock. The location was confirmed with BCF to ensure that it would not interfere with the location of overhead passenger loading. Planning for Surplus Lands The surplus lands working group met again during this time frame and delivered updated recommendations I the fall of Working with the SLWG the planner developed a zoning framework for lots 1 and 3. A report was presented to Council (COW) in January 2008 seeking direction to prepare amendments to the OCP and LUB for first reading to implement the framework. The COW passed a resolution recommending to council that direction be give to proceed with drafting bylaws. However before those bylaws came forth staff were directed to provide further information on and an assessment of all the surplus lands. A report dated April 30, along with an information matrix and an assessment matrix were presented to a special Committee of the Whole on May 1, As a result of that meeting direction was given to the planner to return with a bylaw for the rezoning of lot 3 and also to consider lot 2 and not to proceed with lot 1. The planner delivered a report dated June 13, 2008 to the June 23 rd council meeting for the zoning of specific portions of lot 3. and a bylaw for first reading Resolution was passed as follows. That Bylaw No. 223, 2008 cited as Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 223, 2008 be read a first time; That pursuant to the Letter Patent, Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 223, 2008 be referred to the Islands Trust for comment; and That Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 223, 2008 be referred to the Surplus Land Working Group, Affordable Housing Working Group, the Advisory Planning Commission, Metro Vancouver Regional Parks and municipal staff for comment; and That the referral groups be specifically asked to comment on whether the road through the southern portion of site 3 should be accommodated or not of 269

8 A further report dated July 23, 2008 was presented to Council about the ferry marshalling road as proposed in the SCMP through part of lot 3. The concern was about having to blast a piece of the rock knob. Resolution was passed: That the proposed ferry marshalling road as depicted in the Snug Cove Master Plan not be extended through Site 3. The referral came back from the Islands Trust with a concern that the bylaw was not consistent with the OCP as it used floor space as a method of calculating density rather than units which is what the OCP stated. The planner presented a report dated September 26, 2008 to the October 6, 2008 Committee of the Whole meeting that addressed the concerns raised by the Islands Trust and the other referral comments and the resolution Bylaw 235 and an amendment to the OCP to address the Islands Trust concern and an amended bylaw 223 to amend the Land Use bylaw were also presented. COW resolutions and making recommendations re the lot line and to give first readings and hold a public information meeting were passed as well as a direction to staff to clarify the definition of hard landscaping. That staff be directed to review the southern property lot line on the proposed rezoning parcel for the purpose of ensuring that it is in the most beneficial location for the community. That the Committee of the Whole recommends to Council that: That Bowen Island Municipality Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 139, 1995, Amendment Bylaw No. 235, 2008 be read a first time; and That Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 223, 2008 be reread a first time; and That pursuant to the Letters Patent, Bowen Island Municipality Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 139, 1995, Amendment Bylaw No. 235, 2008 and Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 223, 2008 be referred to the Islands Trust; and That pursuant to Section 879 of the Local Government Act, Bowen Island Municipality Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 139, 1996, Amendment Bylaw No. 235, 2008 be referred to the Advisory Planning Commission and to a Public Information Meeting for comment; and That staff be authorized to schedule a Public Information Meeting prior to the holding of a Public Hearing on Bowen Island Municipality Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 139, 1995, Amendment Bylaw No. 235, 2008 and Bowen Island Municipality Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 223, That staff provide an environmental inventory of the lands for the public information meeting. These were resolutions from a Committee of the Whole and they never came forward to Council. There was an election in 2008 and the OCP update was commenced in These bylaws are still out there and could easily be activated. The OCP amendment should not be necessary as the issue should have been addressed in the OCP update, but this should be checked. OCP Update During the consultation process for the OCP a series of discussion topics were presented to a public information meeting on March 13, Discussion documents were prepared for each topic, one was on transportation. Attendees were asked to choose the option they preferred for each discussion of 269

9 topic. A report was prepared on the responses received. Have reviewed the report prepared by OCP Consultant and there were very few responses so they are probably not a good indicator of public opinion. The OCP has policies that relate to Snug Cove and ferry marshalling. These need to be identified. One of the key ones for ferry marshalling is policy 238 which says the ferry dock will continue to be where it is now. Other key ones are Snug Cove policy 97 which mandates a consultation process on the walkable village as suggested by the APC and policy 98 which says what the Snug Cove Implementation Plan should consider. Much of policy 98 work may have already been covered in the reports noted above. James Tuer Reports 2010 and 2011 There was no further action on ferry marshalling until 2010 when James Tuer was engaged by the planning department to assist in providing information to Council to facilitate Council making a decision on advancing Snug Cove revitalization which was one of Councils strategic plan objectives. Four reports were prepared and presentations made and a public information meeting was held with an online survey for the public to complete. Ferry Marshalling Review Interim Report June 2010 Ferry Marshalling Review Analysis of Options October 2010 Snug Cove Village Design and Transportation Concepts May Snug Cove Village and Transportation Concepts, Analysis of Public Input September 27, After the analysis of the public input Council in Committee of the Whole reviewed the various design guidelines and options and made recommendations on which ones to include in the plan and some to move forward with and which ones not too. They also made recommendations on the ferry marshalling schemes and those resolutions are below: Committee of the Whole Recommends to Council that Planning Scheme A be included in the list of preferred planning schemes in the Snug Cove Implementation Plan Committee of the Whole Recommends to Council that Planning Scheme D be included in the list of preferred planning schemes in the Snug Cove Implementation Plan Planning schemes C and D were not accepted.. Committee of the Whole recommends to Council that Staff review the costs and policy changes required to enable the implementation of the preferred design elements within the Snug Cove implementation Plan. Committee of the Whole recommends to Council that staff prepare a budget for the cost benefit analysis for the preferred ferry marshalling planning schemes in the Snug Cove implementation plan of 269

10 The recommendations from the COW were considered at a subsequent Council meeting and Scheme A was selected as the first priority and scheme D as the second priority and staff was only asked to consider costs for scheme A. The resolutions are below: That Planning Scheme A be Phase One priority of the planning schemes in the Snug Cove Implementation Plan. That Planning Scheme D be Phase Two priority of the planning schemes in the Snug Cove Implementation Plan. That staff prepare a budget for the cost benefit analysis for the preferred Phase One Ferry Marshalling Planning Scheme A in the Snug Cove implementation plan. Plan Z 2012 David Wrinch presented plan Z and council resolved to consider it as one of the options. This option is a variation of the loop road. It is also very similar to an option developed by Brad Hawthorn, previous manager of public works and BIMFAC. Snug Cove Planning May 2012 A staff and council workshop was held on May to go over options for ferry marshalling. This draft report was presented to Council at that time as well as other items by the planning consultants. We are awaiting a report from the planning consultants on a suggested path forward with ferry marshalling. Community Lands Workshop July 6, 2012 A staff and council workshop with invited guests with real estate development background, infrastructure and form the surplus lands working group. Report to be prepared by planning consultants of 269