Courtenay council has approved a motion from Mayor Larry Jangula to abandon any ideas of constructing a third river crossing at 21st Street.
Monday’s decision was met with applause from a packed house in council chambers. Some attendees were members of the Courtenay Airpark Association, which says a 21st Street bridge would destroy the park and make the Courtenay River inaccessible to float planes.
Based on community input and analysis of a draft Transportation Master Plan, various themes emerged for transportation modes in the next 20 years – one of which was a Courtenay River crossing south of the 17th Street Bridge.
Besides the crossing, the association has also been concerned about short-term leasing at the airpark, which has created jobs and revenue for the City. It also provides an alternate landing pad when weather conditions impede landings at the hospital.
Jangula recommended that City staff prepare long-term leases, in the range of 20-40 years, for the association and park tenants, but council opted for a staff report on the issue. Coun. Doug Hillian wasn’t prepared to support a 20-40-year period without a staff report, which he hopes to see early-September.
There are five leases at the airpark that the City would like to align into the same end date, CAO David Allen said.
“Jobs and job security are on the line,” said Dave Mellin, representing the association. “There’s a lot of people that are not sleeping well at night…A five-year lease is of no value to people who want to do business down there. One of the businesses was planning to hire 15 more people. That’s huge.”
Mellin notes the Official Community Plan supports the Airpark and associated businesses.
“We just asked the mayor and council to do what they have in the Official Community Plan. We need this to be dealt with in short order.”
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