Charlie Anderson
Province
CREDIT: Arlen Redekop, The Province Float-plane companies are seeking permission to move westward until the new convention centre is built.
Opponents of a temporary westward move of Coal Harbour‘s float planes are vowing to bury the permit process under a mountain of lawsuits, appeals and injunctions.
West Coast Air, Baxter Air and Harbour Air appear before city council on Sept. 21 seeking permission to move their operations 260 metres westwards, pending the building of the new Vancouver Convention Centre.
The move is supposed to be temporary, but opponents fear that, in the absence of any concrete future plan for the float planes from the convention centre, that move may be permanent.
Doug McClelland of the Coal Harbour Resident’s Association says the temporary float-plane home should be on the east side of Canada Place. Residents, marina and water users have collected a large war chest and McClelland promises the permit process will be tied up with appeals, injunctions and lawsuits until the float-plane operators move there.
“They’re being told by the convention centre that they have to be out by Thanksgiving. Well, there’s no way,” said McClelland. “It’s not over until we win.”
McClelland insists he’s not against float planes in Coal Harbour or at the new convention centre. But he says the temporary location will be in front of condo owners and will congest already narrow waterways in western Coal Harbour.
Meanwhile the float-plane operators feel they’ve been pushed to the sidelines in the planning of the new convention centre, scheduled to open the summer of 2008.
“Instead of being part of the development, we’re kind of an add-on,” said Greg McDougall of Harbour Air.
The operators say independent studies show the move wouldn’t impact the area negatively and that provisions can be made to handle increased traffic in the area.
“We see ourselves as being so vital to the transportation of business and government in this province that there will be an accommodation for us,” McDougall said.
© The Vancouver Province 2004