Though no official plans have been developed for what will become of the Marine Drive hillside, White Rock city staff have been looking into estimated costs to lease the land for a parking lot, to the surprise of some elected officials.
In an internal email dated Jan. 29 from director of finance Sandra Kurylo to city manager Dan Bottrill – released as part of a resident’s Freedom of Information request – the estimated cost of leasing space on the hillside is detailed, based on a 2014 estimate of $3.23 per square foot for land in the Bayview Park area.
“The area to be leased for a hump parking lot (Johnston Road to 15066 Marine Dr.) is estimated to be 92,900 sq.-ft.,” Kurylo writes. “The estimated annual lease fee at the above rate would be $329,000 plus potentially another 3% per year beyond 2017.”
Asked Monday if a parking lot on the hillside – often referred to as ‘the hump’ – was being planned, Mayor Wayne Baldwin said, “I don’t think so.”
Baldwin said he had no knowledge of the email between staff detailing the potential leasing costs, and said he has not seen any plans for the hillside, nor did he know what directives were given to Diamond Head Consulting Ltd., the company hired to put together a landscape plan.
“Staff is working on it, I’m not sure what the instructions to Diamond Head are,” Baldwin said.
Bottrill told Peace Arch News Wednesday that the email from Kurylo was in response to his request for a “ballpark number” of what it would cost the city to lease the land from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.
“There were some ideas about whether or not (a parking lot) was an option, so I wanted to understand if that option was pursued… what the additional lease costs were,” Bottrill said. “I always try to anticipate where things might go and questions that might be asked, making sure we have answers in advance of that.”
The hillside has been a controversial issue for the city since extensive clearing work began last spring, catching many residents – and at least two councillors – by surprise. Officials say the work was to improve slope stability, increase line of sight and remove invasive species.
In December, Coun. Grant Meyer told PAN he wanted the city to take another look at a 12-year-old proposal for a parking and plaza development on the hillside. The plan, commissioned by the city in 2003, called for 125 parking stalls and a pedestrian plaza; after the proposal was met with criticism from the community, council of the day voted against it.
Last month, staff told the city’s environmental advisory committee that Vancouver-based Diamond Head had been commissioned to devise a replanting plan and that the work was a “priority” in the engineering department. A committee member expressed surprise at the Feb. 17 meeting that a plan hadn’t already been made, and that the city needs to “get on it.”
A representative from Diamond Head told PAN via email Tuesday the company has “just started to collect information in preparation of a plan” and deferred to the city’s director of engineering, Greg St. Louis, for details of the plan’s objectives. St. Louis is on vacation this week.
Coun. David Chesney, who has been outspoken about his disapproval of the hillside clearing, said Tuesday that he was “blindsided” when a resident sent him the email containing the land-lease estimates for the hump last week.
“That was the first time I ever saw any of that,” Chesney said, noting a request from the resident for comment left him in a “terribly awkward position.”
“There has never been any discussion that I’ve been part of as to what it would cost for us to lease the land.”
Chesney said that while increased parking at the waterfront has been discussed, it’s not something he supports.
“I don’t believe that we need to spend millions of taxpayers’ dollars for four or five Sundays a year that people can’t park right in front of the restaurant they want to go to,” he said. “I just don’t think it’s necessary.”
Coun. Helen Fathers, who was also forwarded Kurylo’s email, said Tuesday she was unaware of plans for a hillside parking lot and didn’t know why staff would be looking into the matter.
“The idea has certainly been thrown around back at the start of our term, to have parking on that hump,” Fathers said. “Has it gone any further than that? I don’t know because I haven’t been privy to that information.”
Bottrill said there is no timeline for the landscaping plans but that staff is hoping to get them in place “as soon as we can.”
