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OK, I'm WalMarted out! The WalMart debate and situation is the most complicated planning and political mess I have seen in twenty years. This topic will be one that will make the Council earn its money: will they do the "right thing" or the "popular thing"? All I know is that there will be good grounds for an OMB appeal, if the Council approves the site-specific rezoning of any land in the Business Park. My opinion is simple. WalMart may be right for the Town but in the proposed Strathy Road Business Park it is dead wrong. However what this debate has done is to affirm the Main Central Commercial Area (MCCA) as the focal point of our community. So let's discuss it!
As many people have pointed out the Downtown core area is central to our civic values as a small rural town and the town's Official Plan calls for its protection and enhancement. To that end, a task force (the CAUSE team) has been working on a plan to bring in a team of architects to help us out. On the weekend of October 19-23 this team will be working to put into words and drawings what the community wants for the MCCA and the whole town. This team will be assisted by a small number of locals and will have two public meetings, one at the beginning and one at the end.
So if you have any ideas at all about how the downtown should look and behave (remember downtowns are organic living bodies) come out and talk up the CAUSE. I would hope that the debate about WalMart has reminded all about the problems and potential of our central place. In addition we also have the chance to get the councilors, and anyone else, to talk about their visions. And, not being afraid to put in my two cents worth here is what I will be telling the CAUSE team.
There are four components to any successful downtown revitalisation: define the area, assemble the elements of the design, build a plan and model, form a governance team, and finance it. The first challenge is to convince all that the harbour and the downtown are linked. This may appear to be fundamental (for instance the number of Condo's being planned for the land at the harbour is too few, we will end up with an enclave for the wealthy rather than an engine of commerce) but that point is missed by most councilors obsessed with building anything with a tax base rather than a future. The second part is to 'bluesky" and "brainstorm" and come up with all the elements of the final plan. This is essential as we want to include all the aspirations and dreams of our citizens. Elements are: shopping experiences, the critical mass of people needed to sustain a breathing downtown, the potential for housing this critical mass, the parking needed for expected retail market, streetscapes, and finally zoning protection (for instance we do not want to allow the zoning of Banks in any other parts of town). Thirdly we have to recruit a team of well-respected and experienced financiers and community developers (and they exist in this community) for the Board of the non-profit development organisation that will create a new MCCA. And, last but not least, finance the whole dream. This can be done by making sure that the municipality is an essential part of the private/ public sector joint venture and having them provide both the seed money and financial security. Transferring the ownership of the public parking lots would provide both the landmass for new commercial/residential buildings and the wherewithal for borrowings. Further financing can be arranged by using the municipality as the repository for a trust fund. I am sure that if one's capital were guaranteed many people would contribute to a scheme where you could see your money work for you on a daily basis. So here's the deal: transfer the parking lots to the non-profit development corporation and borrow the money to buy the Allen's hardware building. Sever off the lower floor for retail using the newly created method of 'horizontal severances", apply the cash to remodel the upper floors for medium/high density condos/apartments. Finish that job and with the newly erected elevator and balconies move in a westerly direction until all floors in the whole block are finished, repeat the process on the north side of the street. At the end we will have a population of city-dwellers bankrolling a market revival. There are other ideas around: Keith Oliver's downtown plan and the 1985 parking garage study that stated that a structure could not pay for itself because it needed at least a $1.25 per hour charge per vehicle. Guess what folks it (the parking garage) would be financially possible today. These ideas, and many more, will be studied by the CAUSE team, so get out and join them.
You know there is a saying "Some issues are too important for the politicians!" Well this topic is one of them. Why don't you, the citizens, finish this job of downtown redesign and then watch how many politicians jump on. "There go my people, I must lead them" (Napoleon).
A Downtown suggestion