The developer locked in a land dispute with the Musqueam Indian Band over a condominium development in Marpole has sent a letter to Premier Christy Clark and Mayor Gregor Robertson imploring both leaders to end the impasse.
Sean Hodgins, director of Century Group HQ Developments Ltd., said he and property owners Gary and Fran Hackett continue to lose money as the Musqueams protest outside the site on Southwest Marine Drive drags on without a settlement.
We need solutions, not stalemate, Hodgins wrote in the June 5 letter, which was circulated to media Tuesday. We are asking you both for real action. Without action, the protests will escalate, our expenses and losses will mount and public confidence in governments respect for private property and First Nations rights, in the delivery of affordable housing and in the confidence of investors generally, will be irreparably compromised.
Hodgins said the provincial and city governments granted the necessary permits to develop the acre-sized piece of private property near the Arthur Laing Bridge. The permits required an archaeological dig on what was widely known as a Canadian heritage site for its connection to an ancient village occupied by the Musqueam.
Century Holdings agreed to stop development when archaeologists discovered partial ancestral remains of at least four humans on the site in January and April. Century informed the provincial government and Musqueam, hoping to reach a resolution on what do with the remains.
Hodgins accused the provincial government and city as engaging in a vigorous exercise in finger pointing, with both sides unwilling to make a decision. The city has said it is a minor player in resolving the dispute.
But Hodgins noted the mayor expressed solidarity with the Musqueam by signing a petition that calls for a land swap involving the city and the provincial government. The Musqueams goal is to obtain the property and turn it into an interpretive park.
In an attempt to resolve the issue, and consider the land swap, the provincial government appointed a facilitator to work with all parties. But Hodgins noted in his letter that remarkably, late last week Premier Clark was quoted as saying that this is not a provincial issue, even while her officials are deciding whether or not to suspend or alter the provincial permits under which the site has been investigated for months.
He recommended both leaders either allow the development to proceedwhile preserving artifacts and respectful removal of the remainsor match the noble gesture of the Musqueam to help compensate us and buy the land and preserve what is left of the Marpole Midden.
Dont leave us, as taxpayers who have followed the rules and procedures scrupulously, in this untenable situation which increasingly questions the competence of our governments, citizens property rights and the confidence with which anybody will make a real estate investment in the province or the city in the future, he concluded.
The Musqueam have mounted a vocal outside the property since May 3 and last week blocked the north side ramps to the Arthur Laing Bridge for almost three hours. The band and its supporters say they wont leave the site until a settlement is reached that keeps the remains untouched.
More than 70 people have pre-bought units in the proposed 108-unit complex, which is designed to have an underground parkade. The Hacketts have owned the property for more than 50 years.
Twitter: @Howellings
