After months of public consultation and debate, City of Powell River councillors made a decision about the fate of a vacant waterfront lot that is close to many residents’ hearts. In a 6-1 vote, council voted not to change the OCP (official community plan) designation or zoning on the parcel located at the corner of Marine Avenue and Abbotsford Street, known as the old arena site. The parcel will remain as park.
There wasn’t exactly a campaign to rezone the parcel, although the Powell River Regional Economic Development Society (PRREDS) has been urging council to decide the issue for a number of years. The society was tasked in 2007 to solicit expressions of interest in the parcel and found that developers were reluctant to put forward proposals because of the zoning. As well, there is a parks covenant on title that left developers wary of investing any money into creating a proposal.
PRREDS has been the driving force behind seeking a public-private partnership for a multi-storey development, with space for cultural facilities on the bottom level and condominiums on the upper levels. After the organization tested the waters, representatives came back to council with the message the zoning would have to be changed before any development could proceed to even initial stages. With a staff report recommending rezoning, council passed the initial readings of bylaw amendments in May 2010.
Council held a public hearing about the bylaw amendments in June. There were so many people at the meeting that council extended it over two nights. The overwhelming message was to leave the parcel as park.
Council postponed making a decision and instead asked staff to conduct public consultation. Staff did organize an open house, but couldn’t find time to set up displays in malls to reach more of the public, as council requested. Again, responses from the open house were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the parcel as park.
The issue dropped from council’s agenda for a few months, until PRREDS wrote another letter urging the city to move forward on the issue. Since so much public consultation had followed the first public hearing, the city had to hold another before council could vote on the third reading and adoption of the bylaw amendments.
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, residents poured into city hall last week for the second public hearing. Again, the overwhelming number of people who spoke asked council to keep the parcel as a park.
The following night, council voted on the bylaws. To some people’s surprise, the vote was overwhelmingly opposed to passing the bylaw amendments, in a split that could be interpreted as a reflection of sentiment in the community.
The whole issue arose because it is believed a high-end development on the parcel would generate much-needed tax dollars for the city, as well as provide a way for constructing a cultural centre without additional property taxes. While Powell River residents understand the need for diversifying the tax base, they also said clearly and consistently that the old arena site is not the parcel for that project.
Council listened to the people who made the effort to attend meetings and open houses to express their views. Council has to listen to the people who show up and they did. The process worked as it was designed to and the parcel will continue to be held in the public trust, where it belongs.
