Some people criticize the George Hotel because it would obscure views of the harbour. The bigger problem is that it would take Gibsons out of the running to be a Dream Town.
I discovered the existence of Dream Towns today, thanks to an email I got from Ian Jacques, editor of the Coast Reporter.
A few days ago I wrote a letter to that newspaper. I said the big problem with the George Hotel is that it harms Lower Gibsons’ brand as a “quaint seaside village.” The letter ran in this weekend’s paper. Before publishing it, Jacques emailed, asking where I had found that information.
It’s good to know the newspaper strives to check its facts, but I wasn’t sure what fact Jacques was referring to. By definition Gibsons is a “seaside village,” so I figured he wanted to know where I came up with the word “quaint.”
To set his mind at rest, I went beyond my initial source for the word and looked for others. I found that a plenitude of reputable sources, including the Vancouver Sun and CBC, refer to Lower Gibsons as “quaint.” I also learned there are a lot of other seaside villages that are proud to describe themselves with that adjective:
Cedar Key, Florida
Cohasset, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachussets
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Sag Harbor, New York
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
Falmouth, Rhode Island
La Conner, Washington
Port Townsend, Washington
Then I came upon a much longer list at the Coastal Living website. The list describes waterfront communities where devotion to traditional architecture and low building heights keeps the village “quaint.” The magazine calls these places “dream towns.” People who live in Gibsons knowit’s a Dream Town. We just need to convince the world–and publications like Coastal Living that could promote Gibsons as a tourist paradise–that we’re every bit as dreamy as the towns currently on its list.
It’s hard to imagine that could be done if the George Hotel were to dominate the shoreline.
Rains on The Coast 
I heartily concur. The George as currently envisioned would be disastrous for Gibsons. It’s Provincetown, Massachussets, by the way, and though I haven’t been there for many years, it was indeed quaint.
I really appreciate your input, and thanks for noting the town-state mismatch. I was editing a longer list of towns and accidentally removed Falmouth, which is a beautiful seaside town in Rhode Island. I’ll return it to the list.