#Nanaimo waterfront park lease referendum upcoming — I share some thoughts with Mayor + Council

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

.@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

New Masters of Community Planning Program at @VIUniversity approved by the province!

New Masters of Community Planning Program at @VIUniversity approved by the province! The first cohort is planned for September 2015. Pls RT

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) September 26, 2014

Stealth waterfront park privatization underway in #Nanaimo

#Vancouver's Seawall has been named Canada's best public place - but it's also a neighborhood & multi-modal corridor. pic.twitter.com/zATF7zAeSg
— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) September 8, 2014

Nanaimo’s seawall parks and neighbourhoods are first rate and our best asset. Our City Hall has just passed an upzoning for a pie-in-the-sky “Hilton” hotel development on the waterfront and our City Hall is considering privatizing large portions of our waterfront Georgia Park.

This stealth privatization is being done on 3 fronts: 

• an outright “lease” turning parkland over to the developer for a loading zone area (semi’s and delivery vans servicing a 300+ room hotel, patio areas for hotel cafes and lounges and a “grand staircase” creating a flow from the hotel lobby directly down to the waterfront promenade).

• portraying the aggressive extension of its lobby into and onto our parkland by a “grand staircase” connecting to the harbour side promenade as a community benefit. “Connectivity” between Front Street through the hotel to the staircase. This staircase is to be included in lands under their control by a 60 year lease agreement.

• perhaps most objectionably of all, the agreement with Staff to apply the very modest Community Amenity Contribution created by the huge uplift in value created by City concessions to be spent only on areas immediately surrounding their property and in concert with their landscape architects.

Staff report to Council here. 

Up-zoning to 114.3 m height and FAR of 12 approved Sept 3 at a well attended public hearing, a large majority of delegates speaking against the height and massing application and the park give-away . Sale of land currently designated lane-way that runs the property perimeter on the north and east sides (which alternatively could have been added to this park area which has been overdue for a redesign for at least 15 years). If there was a strong evidence based argument on which the City made these decisions, I didn’t hear it expressed by Council, it wasn’t made by the proponent at the public hearing and I see no sign of it in the Staff report.

The park lease provision, if the idea itself isn’t pulled off the table now just weeks before the municipal election, will require a referendum. Opposition to the loss of control over parkland, especially a much-loved and popular waterfront park, is strong, broad and spreading.

More background and further thoughts here. 

@1sidewalkballet @andrewtrevjones @NanaimoBulletin @neil21 They should NOT privatize public space. Especially for that abomination.
— Wise Monkeys (@wisemonkeysblog) August 20, 2014

---

Nanaimo Transportation Master Plan Goes to Council Monday

How to critique a Transportation Master Plan that says all the right things? All the current urbanist jargon and concepts are here. The first part of the plan could have been written by algorithm mining from on-line content trendy notions of "complete streets", "walkability" and "a good transportation plan is a good land use plan." So, no fault can be found in the introduction and one is encouraged that based on these urbanist concepts, visionary and transformative actions are surely to follow.

But, I'm reminded of the band leader who, when asked to play a dreary old chestnut that both he and his band loathed, said no they didn't play that tune but you'll like our next selection instead — it contains many of the same notes.

Some background. Nanaimo is a small city on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It is often referred to as 5 minutes wide and 45 minutes long. By my estimation its land mass is five times greater than makes any sustainable sense. By comparison, Victoria, the Provincial Capital 100 km to the south with a comparable population of around 85,000 is 7.5 sq miles to Nanaimo's 35 sq miles. This is the elephant in the room in all important planning, economic development and mobility challenges our little city faces.

While brief, passing reference is made to this very low population density, its ramifications are not dealt with here in any realistic manner. The report has some blind spots and this is certainly one of them. To the report's credit the linkage between zoning and land use and mobility in the city is identified but in a way the weather or the city's geology might be discussed. At some point cities have to face the limitations of a real estate driven sprawling development model that was great fun through the boom years but has left us struggling with its consequences. It is possible, though not discussed in this document, that a one-size-fits-all multi modal mobility plan is simply not feasible in a city as sprawling as Nanaimo. Concerns I raised in an earlier post here.

@neil21 @spirit_of_urban There is a salvageable, city in #Nanaimo’s core. 1st rate walk/ bike infra, modest transit are doable today...
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) November 6, 2013

A wise friend said early days in this planning process, "a transportation master plan is about everything", there's nothing in city life that transportation in the city doesn't touch for good or ill. To me the first and overarching question in thinking about transportation planning is "what kind of city do we want to have." Here's two examples of plans that show vastly different approaches. The first is the City of Red Deer, Alberta. They brought in two very high profile urbanists who are in demand around the world: Danish architect Jan Gehl and Gil Penalosa former Parks Commissioner, Bogata Columbia who now heads the Canadian based 8-80 Cities. Link here. The second is a report done for the City of White Rock by the consultant Nanaimo hired, Urban Systems. Link here.

City Manager Says: Stop Sprawl? — Eliminate the Urban Containment Boundary

In 2008 as part of a 10 Year Official Community Plan Review then Nanaimo City Manager Gerry Berry explained to Council that the elimination of the Urban Containment Boundary would halt sprawl by stemming low density development in the Regional District. Seriously. Listen to the logic and urbanist sounding jargon he offers to make his case...

"Increasingly Council is called upon to act on some very complex issues, and it's an organized complexity - so often effects in one area aren't necessarily linear and they're felt elsewhere." — Nanaimo City Manager Gerry Berry, 2008 appropriates some Jane Jacobs speak. What the hell he means by this still escapes me...

U can’t add ped/bike to car—U can add ped/bike to what you take from car.

U can’t add ped/bike to car—U can add ped/bike to what you take from car. #Nanaimo @spirit_of_urban @G_Anderson1 @LitmanVTPI @BrentToderian
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) February 16, 2014

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

And in Summation and Conclusion (ahem)... My Thoughts Submitted to Nanaimo's Transportation Master Plan

Thanks to Nanaimo City Councillor George Anderson, Chair of the City of Nanaimo Transportation Advisory Committee for providing numerous opportunities to submit ideas to the Transportation Master Plan and to meet and discuss them in person.

These are the areas I will be looking to see addressed in the final Plan —

• Elimination of all commercial inter-city traffic from the Island Highway and its return to its proper role as a city street in the service of the neighbourhoods it passes through. Speed limit max 30kph as it passes through neighbourhoods. A detailed, objective analysis should be completed on the economic and social impacts of this highway.

• Speed limit reductions to 30kph throughout all residential areas. 50kph restricted to a few arterials, and these with narrowed lanes, HOV and bus lanes, cycling infrastructure. A pedestrian friendly environment will follow naturally from these improvements.

• Cancelling costly road infrastructure projects like the Bowen/Boxwood project. You can’t solve “congestion” by road building. No city anywhere has ever done it. Time to accept the proven law of induced demand. And related, I would like to see careful consideration given to Development Cost Charges revenues when they are used to justify road building projects. Recognition that they are taxes, not paid by the developer or the builder but by of course… the taxpayer. Are they “new monies” or diverted from elsewhere in the local economy? As taxes do they take their place in the intense competition between civic spending priorities. Are they used to pay for past road building projects and in that regard are they not part of a kind of Ponzi scheme?

• The inequity between the municipal taxation yield between the inner city and the low population density suburbs should be recognized and addressed. A one size fits all transportation plan that attempts to cope with decades of poor zoning and land use decisions is, I fear, headed to failure. Cities like Nanaimo need “Inner City Containment Boundaries” in which amenities and infrastructure are commensurate with taxation yields that are four and five times higher per acre than the outlying areas. The suburbs should be prepared to see reduced services and increased taxes. The suburbs should continue to be a consumer alternative for those prepared to pay their costs.

• And finally, I want to submit as formally as possible (by some official protocol in place if required) a request to your Transportation Advisory Committee to require that the Transportation Master Plan be peer reviewed and critiqued. I’ve mentioned earlier SFU’s Gordon Price or former Vancouver Chief Planner Brent Toderian could offer fresh prospective. The organizations working with Red Deer Alberta, as you and your staff and consultant know, Danish architect Jan Gehl and Cities 8-80 headed by Gil Penalosa, would also be prospects. 

Few things will have a greater impact on the civic, social and economic life of Nanaimo than fresh thinking about mobility in a city that has been allowed to develop to four or five times larger in square miles than begins to be sustainable.

Can Nanaimo be this car-dominant into the future, still + walk/bike/transit? Lets ask @BrentToderian @spirit_of_urban http://t.co/Atsky0FxID
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) November 7, 2013

•@StrongTowns Recognize this kindofwork? Appropriated jargon no meat on bones http://t.co/3h6CmkEIvc http://t.co/3h6CmkEIvc @spirit_of_urban

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) November 6, 2013

@1sidewalkballet @spirit_of_urban Given scale of sprawl repair required in Nanaimo, and support from earlier surveys, would want to see ...

— neil21 (@neil21) November 6, 2013

@1sidewalkballet @spirit_of_urban ...list of specific planned intervent'ns: stroad to boulevard, street reconfig'ns, intersection redesigns

— neil21 (@neil21) November 6, 2013

@neil21 @spirit_of_urban There is a salvageable, city in #Nanaimo’s core. 1st rate walk/ bike infra, modest transit are doable today...

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) November 6, 2013

@neil21 @spirit_of_urban ...Suburbs should expect rising tax and declining services.

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) November 6, 2013

@1sidewalkballet @spirit_of_urban That was what struck me: all high-level obviousness, no meat to critique. Hope it didn't cost much.
— neil21 (@neil21) November 6, 2013

@1sidewalkballet @spirit_of_urban That's sad. Seems like lots of well-intentioned people too. Just playing a mistaken political game. :(
— neil21 (@neil21) November 6, 2013

Motordom triumphant in #Nanaimo— Transportation Master Plan updated @pricetags @BrentToderian http://t.co/3h6CmkEIvc http://t.co/zYL8Psukkz
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) November 4, 2013

Nanaimo's South Downtown Waterfront Initiative

From: frankmurphy@thesidewalkballet.com
Subject: S Downtown Waterfront Initiative Survey
Date: 9 October, 2013 1:20:50 PM PDT
To: sdwaterfront@cityspaces.ca

Comment submitted earlier to your online survey —

Some preliminary thoughts — Early effort to build a public identity for the initiative — the new website, the boots on the ground fair that invited people to discuss the site while touring it, encouraging citizens to attend the (brutally early) committee meetings — is positive and welcome. I'd like to see this phase followed by one where the committee itself and its consultant move to a proactive role in educating people that to be truly successful in realizing the potential of this extraordinary site, there will need to be some discomfort inducing change in the way we have imagined and designed our city. More on this later but for now: I'm referring to dynamics such as Nanaimo's low population density and accompanying car dependency. A number of external factors impact the potential of the site and it's important (though generally in Nanaimo considered impolite) to air them in the earliest days of this process. For instance I'll draw attention to First Capital's Port Place blank wall and expanse of surface parking which has done probably irreparable harm to the Front Street streetscape and made a key piece of the site's interconnectedness puzzle a huge challenge. Also more later on connectivity. 

I'm still trying to get my mind around some of the complexities here. The combination of primary property ownership and rights of access in covenants and existing leaseholders are confusing me. Fascinating and full of potential but confusing. (See map).

While the City-mandated study area is quite rightly the entire waterfront area between the Snuneymuxw lands and the Gabriola Ferry (some say a at-least-broad-brush-stroke study should have been done as part of the 2008 Downtown Urban Design Plan and Guidelines), it's the City, Port and Provincial Crown lands north of the trestle bridge that hold short and medium term potential for redevelopment. Do I have that about right? And the redevelopment of this portion will require a shared vision with the Island Corridor Foundation and the Port Authority and will impact the existing leaseholders. Seaspan's right of access through the site holds the key to moving to the next step if I'm not mistaken. And in case this was all starting to look pretty simple, there is a memorandum of agreement between the City and the Regional District to locate a "transit hub" here. What exactly is meant by a "transit hub" in a sprawling City with a commercial highway running through its downtown scares the bejesus out of me. I see examples elsewhere of transit interconnections by design creating prosperous successful human scale urban "place". Time for an indication that we have some idea of how to do that here.

My initial focus will be the Esplanade and north waterfront connections. Key I think is identifying the characteristics and purpose of "precinct" here. Central is public space. Waterfront access is a primary opportunity of course but there's the chance to do something so much better than just a sea wall. Connected public squares and plazas connecting both at and to the waterfront and through the site. Connected and integrated. This is in general not something Nanaimo has done well. In terms of primary use, Nanaimo has long needed a downtown satellite campus of Vancouver Island University. As Gordon Price has pointed out one of the our biggest urban planning mistakes has been the remote isolated locations of university campuses.

http://www.thesidewalkballet.com/2013/02/from-price-tags-biggest-public-sector.html

A public sector education and training cluster here (ideally including the SFN) integrated with a convenient modern transit system (passenger ferry, light rail, inter city bus all included) holds much promise seems to me.

Meanwhile I'm re-reading Ken Greenberg's Walking Home about his experiences over his career working on many sites not unlike this one and close with this thought —

Who will break it to Nanaimoites that for any potential to be realized here there will be virtually no surface parking?

Frank Murphy
Selby St Nanaimo
www.thesidewalkballet.com

City of Nanaimo Development Application Received for 21 Storey Downtown Waterfront Hotel

This application for development of a 21 storey (240 suite) hotel, including commercial units, proceeds to the Design Advisory Panel on at 5:00 pm September 26 at the Annex building on Dunsmuir Street. The proponent, the Chinese tourism corporation SSS Manhao, has had an offer to purchase the property accepted by the City but there still are a number of conditions to be met including this development permit. Local news coverage: City council approves downtown hotel deal - Nanaimo News Bulletin and from the City's website: DP000854 - 100 Gordon Street | City of Nanaimo

Development permit was issued in Oct 2013. It's currently waiting on completion of building permit. @NanaimoCommons http://t.co/B6ExFMv4zt

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) January 27, 2015

Nanaimo South Downtown Waterfront Initiative

The South Downtown Waterfront Initiative is a long term planning project in Nanaimo, led by the South Downtown Waterfront Committee. This process involves developing visions and opportunities for this complex and challenging property that extend 20 to 30 years into the future. 

Read more: Nanaimo South Downtown Waterfront Initiative: HOME

See also: Wellcox Railyards 

New #Nanaimo @SaveCollieryDam blog post http://t.co/ECGqLc57fn
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) September 1, 2013

Project maps out #Nanaimo waterfront development path @cityspaces http://t.co/cNp2Tgiutn
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) August 13, 2013

Particularly good analysis in comments (not usually the case in G&M but this is excellent) @SaveCollieryDam @TourismNanaimo @UBCIC
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) July 20, 2013

• @SaveCollieryDam eNewsletter update — Vol 1 No 5 http://t.co/7DQhAbr2mD
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) July 13, 2013

Draft agenda of #Nanaimo south downtown waterfront committee meeting July 16 http://t.co/JgIvUhz8Ee

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) July 14, 2013