A concept plan for a recreation plaza on East Beach originally created by a White Rock resident 2½ years ago was criticized by residents at city council Monday, despite assurances from senior staff the renderings are “just an idea.”
The proposal was presented by city staff to the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) at its meeting last week, intended as “something to get the conversation going,” according to Greg St. Louis, director of engineering and municipal operations.
The concept – submitted to the city by Lance King in October 2013 – proposed a 70,000-sq.-ft. recreational area with a jutting viewpoint, a 32-foot humpback whale sculpture breaching from a pool, a children’s playground, picnic tables, beach volleyball courts and a 600-ft. sculptured sea wall.
City manager Dan Bottrill told council Monday that the plan’s inclusion on the committee agenda April 19 “led to some confusion” among residents who perceived the concept as moving forward.
“The Lance King plan, it’s just an idea – his idea – of what we could be doing for East Beach,” Bottrill said. “I’m confident that council has never weighed in on whether or not it was supportive of it. It was never intended to be touted as this is what we’re doing, because that’s simply not the case.”
The city has earmarked $15 million in its 2016-2020 financial plan for “East Beach creation of land,” to be funded over three years from 2017-2019. The funds are expected to comprise development cost charges (DCCs) and community amenity contributions from large-scale developments in the city, as well as grants and contributions.
According to what St. Louis told the EAC last week, the city is working with a consultant to address requirements from the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources – given that the waterfront is a wildlife management area – and has issued a request for proposals for how to repair and prevent erosion on the foreshore.
At Monday’s council meeting, during a public hearing on unrelated proposed financial plan amendments brought forth last week, four residents took the opportunity to speak out against King’s proposed design.
“Man-made structures can be put anywhere, they don’t belong on the beach,” Patricia Kealy said. “Please don’t allow this plan to go any further.”
Ken Jones – a former White Rock councillor and area MLA – called on council to take the $15 million out of the financial plan until “something concrete can be realistically proposed.”
“It seems that council has a serious problem… of freewheeling millions and millions of dollars on projects that have very little substantiation as far as the public is aware,” Jones said. “It appears that something is going on behind the scenes that is pushing these issues.”
Coun. Grant Meyer, during his councillor report at the end of the meeting, shot down claims of an East Beach “conspiracy theory.”
“We don’t have any plans yet, the public will be informed if and when we get a conceptual plan,” Meyer said.