Second AAP for Nanaimo Operations Centre cancelled

City of Nanaimo council voted unanimously to cancel the second Alternative Approval Process for a new Public Works Yard and abandon the bylaw seeking permission for the city to take out a $48.5 million loan on Monday, Feb. 12. File Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM

At a special council meeting on Monday, February 12 Nanaimo City Council voted to cancel a second Alternative Approval Process, or AAP, to take out a $48.5 million loan to rebuild the public works yard.

The city made a fatal error when elector response forms were not available until a day after the official notice for the AAP was posted. According to a staff report, this error meant that the AAP did not meet the requirements of provincial legislation.

Council also voted to abandon the borrowing bylaw for the loan and direct staff to present options to fund Phase One of the Nanaimo Operations Centre.

Speaking prior to the vote, Sandy Bartlett from the CON Oversight Society told council he would like to see referendums used instead of the AAP.

“The next process you should undertake is a referendum. A referendum is an up-down vote that gives the people of Nanaimo the opportunity to vote in favor or against borrowing.”

Councillor Ben Geselbracht spoke in favor of the staff recommendations.

“I'm committed to a fair and transparent, open and democratic process. And we had some issues with the AAP,” he said. “I think we need to get together and sort out options for going forward, give some breathing space and figure it out.”

The vote to cancel the second AAP and borrowing bylaw was unanimous, with councillor Hiliray Eastmure absent.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.