HE was no Mick Jagger, or even Rod Stewart for that matter, but Michael Smith puts on a decent unplugged show.
The District of West Vancouver mayor drew a substantial crowd of the West Vancouver business community to a chamber of commerce function Thursday to talk candidly about the most pressing issues facing the district and what he thought should be done about them.
The jam session covered a number of topics but it was Ambleside and Grosvenor that were the fan favourites.
The developer's latest redesigned proposal for six-and seven-storey towers on the 1300-block of Marine Drive was being evaluated by the district's design review committee as Smith rapped with his audience and the project is expected to be back before council at the June 17 meeting.
After years of bouncing around in public process and redesign, it was time to "man up," put it to a vote, and pass it, Smith said.
"When it finally does come back to council, it's gone through an exhaustive process and I really think it's time that we give it the stamp of approval and move ahead with this thing," Smith said drawing applause from the audience.
The sale of the land would bring in about $36 million to help finance the new combination of police headquarters and fire hall in a public safety building, millions more in community amenities and $1 million annually in tax revenue, all while rejuvenating the neighbourhood and giving Ambleside businesses a badly needed boost, Smith said.
The opposition opinion that building above four storeys would ruin the character of the neighbourhood doesn't wash, Smith said, noting there are 50 buildings south of Esquimalt between 13th and 19th streets that are taller than Grosvenor's proposal.
"There are people opposed, which is fine. I don't mind intelligent discourse about contrary points of view, but sticking on a button that says No More Than Four is not my idea of intelligent discourse," he said.
"If you go down to the pier and look back, you realize that the Grosvenor project is not destroying the quote 'village atmosphere,' whatever that is. The Grosvenor is going to fit in exactly with what's there."
But the proposal won't be a slam-dunk on council, as at least three members are on the fence. And with Coun. Mary-Ann Booth forced to recuse herself from discussions on Grosvenor because of a familial connection to the developer, Smith does not have a tie-breaking vote on council. A 3-3 vote in council would kill the project, but Smith is optimistic.
"I think the overwhelming logic of approving the project will win the day," Smith said. It would be financially irresponsible to borrow the money Grosvenor is offering for the land to pay for the public safety building, Smith said.
"If you borrow $36-million, right off the top, that's a two-per cent tax increase in perpetuity just to pay the interest and then we start cutting programs and services to repay that debt every year," he said.
Smith also voiced a number of crowd-pleasers, including putting TransLink and Metro Vancouver on notice that they cost too much for too little in return for West Vancouver, and reminding the crowd that the district held off tax increases and posted surplus budgets for the last two years.
As an encore, Smith took an audience request and weighed in on the snowballing Rob Ford crack cocaine scandal in Toronto. "What can you say? He's given Toronto publicity around the world," Smith said.
