THE West Vancouver business community clearly favours the Grosvenor development proposal for the 1300-block of Ambleside. If Mayor Michael Smith's breakfast speech at the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce had not already sketched in the background for Ambleside's answer to Park Royal, Monday night's quasi public hearing certainly did.
Eventually, a split council came down on the side of the somewhat down-sized but still markedly upscale Grosvenor development plan.
In terms of Ambleside commerce, it was perhaps the right decision. But we'd feel more comfortable saying that if the requested marketing study on the proposal had been completed and was in front of council before the vote. It seems odd that it was not, and that the minutes of the design review committee deliberations on the Grosvenor redesign were not tabled.
Also conspicuously absent from Monday night's deliberations was any mention of how much (less?) West Vancouver will receive for the downsized Grosvenor project. It's impossible for any councillor to do a cost-benefit analysis if the benefit is unknown.
We feel some sympathy for councillors forced to chew Tums or feeling trapped in a tumbril, but the fact remains that Monday's vote was only the end of the beginning. The rezoning amendments will require a public hearing in the fall and another council vote before this is a done deal.
If the just-say-no'ers, however much they may be mocked, want to change council's mind, they will have one more chance to organize and show they represent the majority opinion.
