Friday, February 20, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Thank you all for the strength you gave Gord, he is officially heading home right now
— @wyoachim
Thank you all for the strength you gave Gord, he is officially heading home right now. #gstrong pic.twitter.com/NbSsKDtSpk
— william yoachim (@wyoachim) February 20, 2015Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
#Nanaimo— Remember our Foundry?
Here's North Van's waterfront.
#Nanaimo—Remember our Foundry? RT @lower_lonsdale: Last night's sunset was unreal! http://t.co/BU1GNRRZZU #northvan pic.twitter.com/EvM2nQCBex
— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) February 17, 2015
"In cities that have done away with their pubic spaces, life has become totally privatized"
— Jan Gehl @citiesforpeople
In cities that have done away with their pubic spaces, life has become totally privatized. ~Jan Gehl @citiesforpeople #TheHumanScale #CNU23
— Hazel Borys (@hborys) February 15, 2015
@1sidewalkballet you are so anti-progressive...go to Victoria, you will fit in there very well!
— Apple4ev3r (@Apple4ev3r) February 15, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Would this Nanaimo hotel project meet
the standard set by recent Vancouver
BC Supreme Court decision?
From: Frank Murphy
Subject: Georgia Park
Date: February 12, 2015
Cc: David Witty , Fred Pattje , Wally Wells , news@nanaimobulletin.com, SAnderson@nanaimodailynews.com
To: Mayor&Council , Ted.Swabey@nanaimo.ca
Mayor McKay and Nanaimo City Councillors —
Your new Council has created a new and very welcome tone to civic affairs. Leadership shown by symbolic gestures, and more substantively, though not more importantly, in policy terms: your support for Councillor Gord as he recovers in hospital, requiring “Empire” Days name be changed to qualify for further funding, reviews of City operations and the Advisory Committee structure, the defeat of Staff’s recommendation to return the Committee of the Whole meetings to the Annex where they would not be video recorded or telecast.
So, so far so good. There is on the horizon though something I’m afraid could undo much of what you’ve accomplished in rebuilding citizen trust in our City Hall: Georgia Park. Here’s three areas where I have concerns: the referendum, the public hearing and the deal itself negotiated between your Senior Management and local developer Insight Holdings.
The referendum. I’m concerned that the referendum will be divisive. Nanaimo will be asked to take a side on a proposal to lease to a commercial development, a portion of this downtown waterfront park.
When this proposal was first announced I spent many mornings at the park (it’s on my morning walk) talking to people about what they thought. I learned that there was a strong undercurrent of opposition and a lingering distrust of powerful players, including our City Hall, making deals behind closed doors. I and others were able through social media primarily, to publicize the public hearing. Although this hearing was announced and then quickly scheduled over late August early September, while many were still on holiday followed by the rush to ready kids for school, it was well attended, lively and informative. Concern and opposition to this proposal was also evident in local newspaper coverage and editorials and letters to the editor. You will also be aware of how heated and polarized public discussion of this was during the November municipal election.
So that the proposal is controversial and divisive I think there can be no doubt. It’s my view — based on what information I’ve able to learn from the staff report to Council, the public hearing and talking to Councillors and, informally one morning, representatives of the developer who happened to be at the park — that the referendum is not only unfortunate but also unnecessary. The proposal to lease waterfront parkland to the developer seems to have originated with City Senior Management more than with the proponent and as then-Councillor Fred Pattje pointed out was not part of the original concept presented to his Planning Advisory Committee.
https://twitter.com/1sidewalkballet/status/560303928504381440
"Justice Mark McEwan sided with the petitioners. He said the city’s process had been “opaque” and that the established principles of a transparent public hearing process had been violated. He not only threw out the development permit for the city’s property, but also the development permit for the site [the developer] now has under construction. He ordered new public hearings be held, and awarded the petitioners court costs.”
Would the Nanaimo Front Street proposal public hearing meet the standard set in this BC Supreme Court decisions? From the decision —
“A public hearing is not just an occasion for the public to blow off steam: it is a chance for perspectives to be heard that have not been heard as the City’s focus has narrowed during the project negotiations. Those perspectives, in turn, must be fairly and scrupulously considered and evaluated by council before making its final decision.”
Subject: Georgia Park
Date: February 12, 2015
Cc: David Witty , Fred Pattje , Wally Wells , news@nanaimobulletin.com, SAnderson@nanaimodailynews.com
To: Mayor&Council , Ted.Swabey@nanaimo.ca
Mayor McKay and Nanaimo City Councillors —
Your new Council has created a new and very welcome tone to civic affairs. Leadership shown by symbolic gestures, and more substantively, though not more importantly, in policy terms: your support for Councillor Gord as he recovers in hospital, requiring “Empire” Days name be changed to qualify for further funding, reviews of City operations and the Advisory Committee structure, the defeat of Staff’s recommendation to return the Committee of the Whole meetings to the Annex where they would not be video recorded or telecast.
.@NanaimoCommons @1sidewalkballet @DarrellBellaart Time to scale back such a grandiose project. Build a hotel that fits the scale of Nanaimo
— Andrew Jones (@andrewtrevjones) February 14, 2015
A referendum about privatizing a city park for a commercial purpose will draw national attention. (Let’s be clear: I’m not at all opposed to the City permitting a use which can be argued enhances the public's enjoyment of a park — You’ll notice there has yet to be a report from your Parks Department or your Parks and Rec Committee arguing in favour of the public benefit to a waterfront park of a hotel loading zone.) 21st century city building ideas are very much in the air right now and I can confidently predict that this will catch the attention of urbanists like Brent Toderian, Gil Penalosa, the Strong Towns organization, SFU’s Gordon Price and UBC's Patrick Condon. And I can confidently predict that they will not be in support of this plan.
Deadline for #Nanaimo Conference Centre hotel likely to be missed @DarrellBellaart http://t.co/wZH14peDsr
— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) February 13, 2015
The public hearing. There is, with justification seems to me, a general cynicism about the inclusive public consultation that these hearings might produce. They are seen as a rubber-stamping part of the process, required to move forward plans and schemes formulated in private by powerful players. You will be aware of the recent BC Supreme Court decision which “threw out” a major development in downtown Vancouver —https://twitter.com/1sidewalkballet/status/560303928504381440
"Justice Mark McEwan sided with the petitioners. He said the city’s process had been “opaque” and that the established principles of a transparent public hearing process had been violated. He not only threw out the development permit for the city’s property, but also the development permit for the site [the developer] now has under construction. He ordered new public hearings be held, and awarded the petitioners court costs.”
“A public hearing is not just an occasion for the public to blow off steam: it is a chance for perspectives to be heard that have not been heard as the City’s focus has narrowed during the project negotiations. Those perspectives, in turn, must be fairly and scrupulously considered and evaluated by council before making its final decision.”
Saturday, February 7, 2015
60% of families would choose a smaller home in #walkable, transit-friendly neighbourhood
60% of families would choose a smaller home if it was in #walkable, transit-friendly neighbourhood pic.twitter.com/M4eW3HvFlv v/@BrentToderian
— Canadian Urbanism (@CanUrbanism) January 18, 2015
Friday, February 6, 2015
From Project for Public Spaces —
What Makes a Great Public Market?
 |
Dappermarkt in Amsterdam, noted as one of the “best shopping streets in the world”
|
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
From @StrongTowns @TheSchoolOfLife — How to make an attractive city
A great pedestrian experience has 4 elements effecting #walkability. Great design considers all 4. pic.twitter.com/ITJIpyQOek via @skyejduncan
— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 4, 2015
More at: An attractive city — Strong TownsSunday, February 1, 2015
@guardiancities 'mayors for a day'
demand more #publicspaces in their cities
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