From: Frank Murphy
Subject: Nanaimo's downtown waterfront park
Date: August 16, 2014 at 7:52:47 PM PDT
To: larrybeasleycm@gmail.com
Cc: David Witty, Wally Wells, Pam Shaw
Hi Larry, contacting you from Nanaimo assuming I have your correct email address. I attended and very much enjoyed your presentation here earlier this year as part the exciting South Downtown Waterfront Initiative the leadership of which, as you know, Dave Witty has skillfully assumed. I’ve been posting developments of the Initiative and examples of waterfront revitalizations that have happened or are happening elsewhere at
http://nanaimocommons.blogspot.ca
I remember how taken you were with our wonderful downtown waterfront public areas of promenades, park areas and the array of uses including the boat basin and residential units that integrate with the public sphere. I, and most Nanaimoites love and value highly this brilliant community asset.
There has been a development which threatens this parkland that I thought you would like to hear about. There’s been for the last number of years a derelict construction site — at the top of the hill near the lagoon, if you recall that area. The developer has now come forward with a proposal to build a 35 storey 300 room hotel on the site. The massing is considerable: FAR of 12. The proponent says they have a bit of a problem: their project is too big for their site. Rather than scaling back the size of the project, they have applied for a lease of the adjoining parkland allowing them to build loading docks and restaurant patios and a “grand staircase” down to the waterfront. They also proposed, and have received Council approval, to purchase a thin strip adjoining their site which was designated “lane-way". They propose to contribute to the cost of upgrading another large portion of the park to serve as an extension of the hotel’s grounds.
This has come in front of Council here in the sleepy days of August and Staff are recommending Council use the Alternative Approval Process to meet the requirements to seek voter assent to privatize parkland.
These links will take you to the Staff report presented to Council and an editorial in one of the local papers that addresses some concerns.
http://nanaimocommons.blogspot.ca/2014/08/proposed-hilton-hotel-to-council-monday.html
http://nanaimocommons.blogspot.ca/2014/08/nanaimo-hilton-still-exists-only-in.html
I fear that before people realize what’s at stake, we could loose a large portion of our beloved waterfront park.
Your thoughts and counsel would be very much appreciated.
— Frank Murphy
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Larry Beasley is the former co-planner for the City of Vancouver, and the father of Vancouverism. He believes that Vancouver's future is "intense and dense."
People build a city, "people with ideas, passions, and disagreements." So said architecture critic Trevor Boddy in introducing Larry Beasley, an urban planner who has profoundly influenced the growth of Vancouver.
Beasley now runs an international urban planning consultancy. In 2004, he was awarded the Order of Canada, the nation's highest honour, for his urban planning work. Read more: After Vancouverism: a conversation with Larry Beasley at the Gwerk Salon
