From:
Frank
Murphy
Date:
June
24, 2012
To:
mayor.council@nanaimo.ca
Cc:
GeneralManagers@nanaimo.ca
Subject:
Port
Place Development Permit
A
quick two cents worth re the Port Place Development Permit on
Monday's Council Meeting agenda. You'll be aware that the residential
component promised in the first application and that was the basis
for Council's enthusiastic approval of that permit has been
eliminated. It is now promised for some time in the future. Please
remember it is well within your authority to ask for a time out here.
I hope you will ask Staff and the proponent the following questions.
What
alternatives have been considered and what alternatives could be
brought to Council for consideration?
What
approaches have worked well elsewhere. (Vancouver's Oakridge
redevelopment come to mind and I would suggest you request a briefing
from Director of Planning Andrew Tucker on the successes in similar
circumstances of Toronto architect and planner Ken Greenberg (Walking
Home).
Have
downtown merchants and/or their organization the Downtown
Nanaimo Partnership been asked to advise Council on any concerns they
may of the impact of this redevelopment?
Also,
I hope you'll take the time before you make any decision to walk the
site. Approach it from any direction and get a sense of this
extraordinary property and the opportunity that exists to, of course,
assist the corporate property owner achieve their business goals but
at the same time accomplish other objectives: downtown
revitalization, economic development, neighbourhood improvement,
fully integrating the site back into a multi-use walkable street grid
connected to and mutually beneficial to our established downtown
core.
The
opportunity to redevelop a key inner city site like this comes around
once every what, twenty-five years. Please take your time.
Frank
Murphy
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