THERE has been much talk lately of public processes for big developments, most of it bad, in the wake of Onni's Safeway site proposal, which the developer said it would withdraw last week after two years of back-and-forth with council.
It has no doubt left both participants and observers exasperated.
Well, a newer, even bigger North Vancouver project is set to begin manoeuvring its way through the same process in the coming weeks. With luck, we can draw a few lessons from the Safeway site debacle before this one gets started.
The first advisory panel meetings for the Harbourside rezoning, which calls for about 800 residential units on a site just south of the Northshore Auto Mall, are set for this week. The first of several public meetings will happen in January.
Both sides - pro and con, community and developer - need to come to the table with a civil tone, deliver their message in earnest, free of hyperbole and derision, and make their allegiances and their methods plain for everyone to see. Yes, both sides.
Anything less, and the whole thing is liable to turn into another fiasco.
City of North Vancouver council is also in the process of reviewing both its density bonusing policy and public hearing policy in the wake of recent controversies.
It would be nice to see all of that in black and white before we get off on the wrong foot again.
And when it's done, no matter the decision made by council, it's going to be upsetting for some. But it won't be the end of the world, which is still currently scheduled for Dec. 21.
