PORT Metro Vancouver will ask the City of North Vancouver for $1 million of city money tomorrow to help pay for design work on the troubled Low Level Road project, with a promise to bring that design back to council and return the money if it's approved.
Council voted down the $57-million project June 13 because the port had not produced any design drawings and had angered many nearby residents during the consultation process. South Slope neighbours are primarily concerned with how far up the slope the new road will be.
In a July 13 letter to local MLA Naomi Yamamoto and MP Andrew Saxton, residents Michael and Michelle Binkley said the port "has done nothing but lie, withhold critical information or give conflicting information to the public."
"PMV is very deceitful and cunning," the Binkleys wrote. "They know their proposals have been flawed and that the residents of the City of North Vancouver do not trust them, so they have very strategically made their request to council at the last possible moment."
"We've been involved for about five months now," Michelle Binkley told the North Shore News, "and they say 'Oh, we'll get you that information,' and then they don't. They say one thing to one neighbour and then they say something else to another. At the first public open house they said it wouldn't be any more than seven metres high but by the end of April it was at 12 metres high."
Nevertheless, she said she still supports the road upgrade in principle.
"One thing the port really missed is that we were never against this project," she said. "We always conditionally supported it. One guy said 'These people are just concerned about their views.' That's not it. If you think we are that small-minded, you've missed the bus."
Amanda Nichol, co-chair of the North Vancouver South Slope Community Association, says her group agrees with the harsh language of the Binkleys' letter and thinks the port's tenants should pay for the design.
"I think it's appalling for them to come to the city and ask for taxpayers' money to go towards this when a million dollars for them is a drop in the bucket. It's nothing. All of those companies are multi-billion-dollar organizations. Are they going to come back and say it's still not possible to (limit the height) and the only way you get your million dollars back is if you approve our outrageous design?
"Residents feel the port has been very devious, and they don't trust them."
Chris Badger, the port's chief operating officer, said it's important to remember that the new road is a "critical" piece of infrastructure for Canadian trade, and that the design work will help the city address stabilizing the South Slope even if the road isn't approved. The port is not willing, he said, to proceed with $6-million to $7-million worth of design work without some city buy-in.
"That's a huge liability for us to take on. That would be equivalent to us taking 15 to 20 per cent of our revenue and putting it at stake for an outcome where we could lose," he said.
Badger defended the port's public process and said it had been hampered by the federal government's firm deadline to access funding. Badger also conceded that his people don't have a lot of background with municipal process.
"This is new to industry and new to us," he said. "We have great experience at developing terminals. We are learning how to develop outside of our normal sphere of influence."
Regarding the residents' criticism, Badger said: "If there are accusations of that degree levelled against us, that's something we will absolutely look into and see what it was that caused the Binkleys or anyone else to believe that we were being deceitful or lying, etcetera. These are things that no organization wants to hear people talk about them in such a tone," he said.
The port's new plan has already fallen flat with at least one city councillor. "They're trying to do this in the middle of the summer with four days notice," said Coun. Rod Clark.
"They're saying they're going to consult with the community? Well they did a great job last time," he said sarcastically.
"They are developers," Clark insisted. "They should bring to council what they want to develop and that should be at their cost and 100 per cent their initiative. At that point we can make an intelligent decision on behalf of the community.
"But until we have that detailed design work, paid for 100 per cent by them, there's no deal as far as I'm concerned."
balldritt@nsnews.com
