Cumberland BC: The Cumberlander Articles Section
Coal Creek Historic Park general · 30th July 2007
Editor, with permission.
Full review for Chinatown/Japanese proposal
By Colleen Dane
Record Staff
Jul 25 2007
A second proposal for Cumberland’s Chinatown/No. 1 Japanese Town park will get the one-two-three treatment by the Village of Cumberland.
Council directed staff this week to go with all three stages of review suggested by their chief administrative officer for the controversial proposal — starting with the consideration of legal and financial implications, review by the park’s ad hoc stewardship committee and public input on the proposed plan.
Council had originally opened up to accepting general proposals for the park, and afterwards accepted the ad hoc committee’s plan for the historical and ecologically-sensitive area.
Despite that, a day before the deadline closed for any other proposals, one more came in from the Sino CanAm Education and Technology Society — now available with the personal information of the individual applicant blacked out.
It is very different from the already-accepted ad hoc committee’s plan, which proposed a series of signs and lookout points, and initiatives like a community garden and picnic shelter as the most intrusive recommendations.
The Sino CanAm Society proposal is “to develop the buildable land into a complex of residence, shopping, entertainment, leisure, restaurant, boarding school, senior home, hotel, R&D office, Confucius college ... whichever investor is interested in,” said the proposal.
It also proposes consideration of a 99-year lease for $1 — with a requirement for the village to buy any development if the lease is not renewed.
The document drew a bigger crowd than what usually comes to council meetings, with comments during question period about why council was moving forward with the proposal at all.
“Staff has better things to do than research an option ... that on the surface is completely ludicrous,” said Kate Greening.
Mayor Fred Bates said they would look at the details and that the decision would in the end be up to council by legal requirement — but that council had already made it clear that the ad hoc committee’s feedback would be given “full weight.”
By Colleen Dane
Record Staff
Jul 25 2007
A second proposal for Cumberland’s Chinatown/No. 1 Japanese Town park will get the one-two-three treatment by the Village of Cumberland.
Council directed staff this week to go with all three stages of review suggested by their chief administrative officer for the controversial proposal — starting with the consideration of legal and financial implications, review by the park’s ad hoc stewardship committee and public input on the proposed plan.
Council had originally opened up to accepting general proposals for the park, and afterwards accepted the ad hoc committee’s plan for the historical and ecologically-sensitive area.
Despite that, a day before the deadline closed for any other proposals, one more came in from the Sino CanAm Education and Technology Society — now available with the personal information of the individual applicant blacked out.
It is very different from the already-accepted ad hoc committee’s plan, which proposed a series of signs and lookout points, and initiatives like a community garden and picnic shelter as the most intrusive recommendations.
The Sino CanAm Society proposal is “to develop the buildable land into a complex of residence, shopping, entertainment, leisure, restaurant, boarding school, senior home, hotel, R&D office, Confucius college ... whichever investor is interested in,” said the proposal.
It also proposes consideration of a 99-year lease for $1 — with a requirement for the village to buy any development if the lease is not renewed.
The document drew a bigger crowd than what usually comes to council meetings, with comments during question period about why council was moving forward with the proposal at all.
“Staff has better things to do than research an option ... that on the surface is completely ludicrous,” said Kate Greening.
Mayor Fred Bates said they would look at the details and that the decision would in the end be up to council by legal requirement — but that council had already made it clear that the ad hoc committee’s feedback would be given “full weight.”
