South Downtown Waterfront, Georgia Park On Monday Council Agenda

South Downtown Waterfront Committee — Revised Mandate and Objectives To obtain Council support for the continuation of the South Downtown Waterfront Committee.

Minutes of the Georgia Park / Insight Developments Public Hearing. Adopt the amended minutes.

100+ in attendance, a large majority of the delegations were opposed. Councillor Brennan's motion to defer the Staff Report back for further work, clarification, defeated. Councillor Brennan, Kipp, Pattje in favour. Motion to approve the height and square footage increases approved, Councillors Brennan, Kipp, Pattje opposed. Council now to decide on method of "elector  assent".

There is every indication that Senior Staff and most Councillors want to ensure that the lease of the waterfront park is not an issue for public discussion during the current election campaign. We can each draw our own conclusion as to why they fear its proper public airing.

Written submissions to the hearing (minutes state there were 36 written submissions and 20 delegations) here.

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From The Sidewalk Ballet, Jan. 2013 —City of Nanaimo to Purchase 26.7 Acre Downtown Waterfront Rail Yards

Pending an environmental review, the City of Nanaimo has announced an agreement with Canadian Pacific to purchase its rail yards. The area was excluded from the 2008 Downtown Urban Design Plan and Guidelines and piecemeal redevelopment of Port Place immediately to the north has proceeded without a master plan for this area.

Redevelopment of these brownfields holds great potential of course but considering a track record here of opportunities lost over the last 10 years I fear the worst. Council will be asked to approve a budget for a "master plan [which] will include not just the land we’re buying but all of the CP lands and the waterfront lands,” says the City's GM Development Ted Swabey. The area should be the subject of a Design Competition geared to attracting top Planning and Architectural talent and badly needed fresh ideas.

There is an agreement in place with the Regional District to collaborate with them on a transit hub. The Snuneymuxw First Nation's reserve lands are to the immediate south and they hold both treaty rights and land purchase options which will directly effect the redevelopment of the site. The Island Corridor Foundation who own the rail line and stations on south and central Vancouver Island are among others who hold land rights and rights of way.

Scariest prospect of all a popular idea for a 5,000 seat multiplex. There simply does not seem to be either the Planning talent or the political will here to, if this goes ahead, create anything other than a piece of brutal architecture floating in acres of surface parking doing  damage to existing downtown neighbourhoods. Much lip service has been offered here about making "place not space" with appropriated urbanspeak aside, nothing meaningful to show for it.

Here's City Councillor Fred Pattje re the Port Place plans proceeding without a master plan for the southern waterfront:

“This is not proper urban planning in my view,” he said. “The Nanaimo Port Authority wants to do something significant with the assembly wharf and the Snuneymuxw have an interest in the Wilcox property. This whole area is Nanaimo’s last urban frontier and there’s no connection in the planning for any of it, so eventually we’ll end up with something really unpleasant."

City of Nanaimo news release

Nanaimo News Bulletin report Dec 14, 2012 City purchases waterfront rail yard downtown

Staff Report to Council Dec 17 2012

The Sidewalk Ballet: City of Nanaimo to Purchase 26.7 Acre Downtown Waterfront Rail Yards