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Follow Up on Arts in Ambleside Proposal In mid July an arts group appeared before Council with a proposal to build a very large art gallery of 28,000 square feet on the Ferry Building site. Including the Hollyburn Sailing Club, the total size of the site is about 47,000 square feet, so that the proposed building of 28,000 square feet would have dwarfed the public space and would have led to the removal or destruction of the Ferry Building, dating to 1913, one of our three designated heritage sites in West Vancouver. The West Vancouver Historical Society directors decided to oppose this project and named Ann Brousson, Pam Dalikjim Carter, Rod Day and Rob Morris to speak on its behalf In the WVHS meeting of September 8, Rod Day reported that he had met with Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones who stated that the project was for discussion purposes only. The same thought was expressed by Brent Leigh, assistant CAO, in his remarks to the Parks Master Plan Working Group Beckerman and representatives of the arts group, which took place on September 19. The group met with the Mayor the next morning, in which it was agreed that the proposal to build an arts facility on the site would be withdrawn. The Mayor asked Rod to appear before the Council meeting of October 3 to outline our objection to the proposal and to make suggestions for possible solutions to the issue. Rod and Rob Morris made a presentation to Council October 3. Rob talked about the site "as hallowed ground" of inestimable value to the community. Rod suggested the formation of two working groups, one to examine the zoning from the waterfront lands between 13th and 18th streets (some of which is zoned commercial and residential) and to seek a suitable site for a new art gallery in the Ambleside area, but not on the waterfront. In the Council meeting of October 3, Mayor Goldsmith-Jones announced that reaffirmed this whole community's love of the waterfront and appreciadon for councils of the last 40 years for acquisition of those waterfront lands." (North shore News October 12). Council decided to ask Brent Leigh to write a staff report for the meeting of October 17 to summarize public input and to point the way to future planning for the waterfront and for an arts facility. We oppose the building of a major art gallery on the waterfront. Any arts buildings on the waterfront should conform to the "string of pearls" position of the Aldrich Peers report of 2006, small cottage style buildings on the scale of the Silk Purse. A working group should be established by Council to investigate public uses and rezoning of the Ferry Building site and its surroundings. This, or another working group, could explore alternate sites in the Ambleside area for a multi-use gallery (as illustrated by the very successful READ Gallery in Abbotsford). there should be considerable public input into this process. by Rod Day September 6. The Mayor suggested that "a new large, waterfront artsfacilityis off the table". "We have certainly the WVHS group meet with Meria Photo: Even In the /920»$, the site was a place Ferry Building to gather. Seated to the left on the wharf in front of the building are Norm Neiison, Herb j a c k Crulclishanl(, Ballantyne, Esselment. and Jimmy 009.WVA.CRW