Two separate Revelstoke news items from the past months have merged into one after proponents of a world-class climbing gym revealed they are planning to build the facility on a Catherwood Road property owned by developer David Evans.
Confirmation of the climbing gym’s location plan came in a letter to the editor to local media on Sunday morning.
However, that annexation application was cast into doubt when Friday’s Revelstoke City Council agenda revealed that enough signatures had been received to stop the annexation of two properties on Catherwood Road into the City of Revelstoke via a counter-petition.
As reported on Friday in the Mountaineer, that means Revelstoke City Council will have an added twist to the decision at their Tuesday meeting, when they decide what to do with the successful counter-petition. In B.C., a counter-petition is used by municipal governments in situations where elector assent is required by law for a given initiative. It requires opponents of the proposal in question to sign on to express their opposition to it. However, it doesn’t poll residents who may be in favour of the proposal.
In practicality, a counter-petition is a cost-saving measure for local governments, allowing them to avoid expensive referendums. (A staff report released on Friday estimated the cost of a referendum for the Catherwood Road annexation to be $10,000.) In fact, many counter-petitions receive little feedback from the electorate at all.
At their Jan. 24 meeting, council will now have to decide whether to proceed with a referendum, or let the annexation die. The meeting starts at 3 p.m. in council chambers.
Last year, the Mountaineer broke news of a large climbing gym development proposal. Hopes were to start moving ahead with plans this spring. When it was first introduced, the proponents didn’t have a location secured, and they did mention the possibility of locating on vacant land near the highway.
Here is the letter from climbing gym proponents Ian Tomm and Fraser Sprigings on Sunday morning.
Letter to editor
January 21, 2017
Dear Editor,
We are writing to express our concern over the recent petition to block the annexation of two properties on Catherwood Road into the City of Revelstoke.
As you may be aware, we have been working on a project to bring a competition quality indoor climbing facility to Revelstoke. Last June we made a public announcement of our intentions and held a series of public meetings looking for community feedback and support. The support from Revelstoke residents and business leaders has been significant to say the least and we continue to refine our plans to bring this new business and service to our community.
Since the very first public meeting, David Evans has been an enormous supporter of our project offering his expertise and resources to help bring our project to fruition. David has offered land located at the Catherwood Road properties for the Revelstoke Climbing Centre. We have been following the annexation process with a keen interest for the obvious reason that David’s contribution of land to our project removed one of the most significant hurdles we face in seeing this new recreation facility built in Revelstoke.
We request that City Council moves forward with an assent vote to allow the broader community of Revelstoke to voice its opinion on this matter.
Sincerly,
Ian Tomm, Fraser Sprigings
Revelstoke Climbing Centre — www.climbrevelstoke.ca
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