The Steveston boardwalk has 60,000 square feet of space available. It is currently zoned mixed-maritime use.
The question was posed at an all-candidates meeting Oct. 23:
What should be done with the Onni / Imperial Landing site?
To learn more about the most recent development application click here.
To learn more about the issue, click here.
-Alexa Loo said the community needs to be asked what is needed.
- Bill McNulty said the development has been ongoing for 10 years.
"There will be full community consultation so that the development will be an asset for Steveston and not impact or hurt any business in Steveston in any way shape or form."
"Lets make sure we hold Onni's feet to the fire like we did WalMart"
- Laura Nastasa said the development is a "travesty" and should never had happened.
She said there is no "black and white answers" and stakeholders need to come together now that it is a fait d'accompli.
She said retail and industrial (maritime) uses could be an option. She said the rates being charged by Onni can alter the uses of the space.
- Linda McPhail is concerned about traffic and parking and said those need to be considered when deciding what can be put in the development.
"We need to find the balance between encouraging business growth while still preserving the unique character of the village." she said, adding the community needs to be consulted more.
- Harold Steves said Onni's offers haven't been good enough for the city.
"Onni is on strike. They're on strike against the city to ensure that we rezone that land and give them a $20 million windfall in profits and rents." He noted rental rates offered by Onni to the city for a were not acceptable.
- Dave Semple said any decision cannot impact vulnerable merchants and current zoning isn't necessarily a problem in the long run.
"Im telling you right now, you put that (retail) in, you just destroyed Steveston," he said.
"Waterfront is coming back. Steveston is going to be a place where people are going to want to visit and the waterfront will be part of that. You're looking at a new False Creek. It seems to me that place has a few maritime mixed uses going on, too."
- Michael Wolfe said there needs to be meaningful consultation, which has not happened.
"When it comes to this decision it has to be from the people of Steveston, from the people of Richmond. It cannot be from the top-down, that's why Im unable to make that decision today."
"Perhaps the people on council are receiving donations from Onni?" asked Wolfe.
- Derek Dang said Onni has taken the maritime zoning and "tried to hold us for ransom."
"We need to have a waterfront that is pristine and usable for the people of Steveston," he said.
Dang said while Onni offered space for a library, the offer was not good enough. Dang said he is a proponent of a new Steveston library on city-owned land, such as on Moncton Street.
- Adil Awan asked "why were the development permits issued in the first place? Consultation should have been done a long time ago. …Now council is saying we need consultation? We need a new council in there to get things done."
- Roy Sakata suggested a research centre, perhaps with federal organizations and/or local universities, could be placed on part of the Onni site. He said the city needs to "look outside the box" to find new solutions.
