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Partnership and consultations announced for Ladysmith waterfront

Sep 24, 2016 | 6:10 AM

LADYSMITH — A plan has been announced which could at last launch development for a strategic piece of underused waterfront property in Ladysmith.

The town of Ladysmith and Stz’uminus Frst Nation are partnering to develop a joint vision to update Ladysmith’s Waterfront Area Plan, which mayor Aaron Stone says zeroes in on 10 acres of shore front land at Slack Point.

Stone says re-energizing the site with a long industrial use history has been a topic of conversation for many years.

“The uplands between the highway and the foreshore are quite stable and available to be developed on. The waterfront areas, there’s lots of potential uses to marinas to park uses, amenities for the community,” says Stone.

A consultant firm has been hired for the planning and public engagement work to discuss the future of the slack point area and a strip of town own land.

He says Dialogue Design comes highly recommended and will help finish the Waterfront Area Plan next year.

“It’s really dynamic, it’s focused on engagement, it’s focused on bringing people’s vision and voices into the process.”

Stone says a long history of industrial use including coal mining damaged the foreshore site.

He says it could cost more than $30 million dollars to re-mediate Slack Point.

Stone says extensive environmental and seismic studies over the last several years will help create more certainty for future investors.