VICTORIA Committee of the Whole Report
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CITY OF VICTORIA Committee of the Whole Report For the Meeting of June 23, 2016 To: Committee of the Whole Date: June 14, 2016 From: Jocelyn Jenkyns, Deputy City Manager Subject: Commemorating Lebanese Immigration to Canada Donation Request RECOMMENDATION That Council direct staff to facilitate a discussion between with the Province of British Columbia and the The World Lebanese Cultural Union- BC Council's (WLCU-BC) to site the statue "The Lebanese Emigrant" on The Province of British Columbia land based on the advice and recommendation of the Art in Public Places Committee and report back to Council by September 2016. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On March 12, 2015, Councillor Isitt and Councillor Thornton-Joe, put forth a Council Member Motion, directing staff to work with The World Lebanese Cultural Union - BC Council and the local Lebanese-Canadian community to identify and report back to Council on potential sites within the City's right-of-way, plazas, greenspaces or parks in proximity to Downtown Victoria or Inner Harbour that would be suitable for the statue "The Lebanese Emigrant". Staff worked with the WLCU-BC to identify potential sites that met the proponent's criteria and were technically feasible. In the donation proposal, The WLCU-BC indicated a strong desire for the statue to be within or within close proximity to the Inner Harbour and in a highly visible location. Based on this desire, the proponents identified Centennial Park as their preferred site for installation. Consistent with the City's policy for public art donations, the WLCU-BC has agreed to cover all costs related to the project including site preparation, installation, plaque and base design and ongoing maintenance. As per the Art in Public Places policy, staff provided the Art in Public Places Committee an opportunity to review the WLCU-BC's donation proposal as well as information on potential sites. The Committee has expressed several concerns regarding the artistic merit, site suitability, and significance of the subject to local history. The recommendation of the Committee is to facilitate a discussion with the Province of British Columbia to site the statue on provincial land based on the provincial significance of the migration of Lebanese immigrants to the Province. Committee of the Whole Report June 14, 2016 Commemorating Lebanese Immigration to Canada Donation Request Page 1 of 7 PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to update Council on the staff analysis regarding potential sites within the City of Victoria for the installation of the statue "The Lebanese Emigrant". BACKGROUND In February of 2015, the WLCU-BC Council submitted a letter to Mayor and City Council to present a proposal to gift a bronze statue depicting a Lebanese peddler to commemorate the arrival of the first Lebanese emigrant to British Columbia 126 years ago. On March 12, 2015 a Council Member Motion by Councillor Isitt and Councillor Thornton-Joe, directed staff to work with the WLCU-BC and Lebanese community to identify potential sites in the City rights-of-way, plazas, greenspaces or parks in proximity to Downtown Victoria or Victoria Harbour that would be suitable for the statue "The Lebanese Emigrant". Committee of the Whole Report June 14, 2016 Commemorating Lebanese Immigration to Canada Donation Request Page 2 of 7 The World Lebanese Cultural Union (WLCU-BC), British Columbia chapter has commissioned Mexican sculptor, Ramiz Barquet, to design and execute a bronze statue entitled The Lebanese Emigrant' and wished to gift the statue to the City of Victoria, as the capital city of the Province. The statue is a token of the Lebanese community's appreciation to the province that welcomed their ancestors and continues to welcome emigrants from Lebanon. This statue is one of five identical works located in Mexico City, Beirut, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Accra. The first Lebanese in the province were two brothers, Abraham and Farris Ray, who began their careers in Victoria as peddlers in 1888, their brother Richard joined them in 1889. By the end of the 1880s the first Lebanese families began to arrive in Vancouver, and establish their homes in the Lower Mainland. The bronze statue solidifies the link between the peoples of Canada and the Lebanese who immigrated to their shores. ISSUES & ANALYSIS The Art in Public Places Committee, whose responsibility it is to review and make recommendations to Council on public art matters, has reviewed the proposal. As stated in the Art in Public Places Policy, The City of Victoria may consider the offer of donations and gifts of artwork for placement in a public space. The Art in Public Places Committee shall evaluate each proposal using established criteria that considers artistic merit, site suitability, and significance of the subject, municipal liability and maintenance. Protocol gifts shall be vetted through the Art in Public Places Committee on placement and appropriateness of the site. The Art in Public Places Policy outlines criteria for acceptance of donations. The factors for consideration include: • The artistic merit of the work • The ability of the City to care for the work. • The type of work being offered • The significance of the subject • Availability of an appropriate site • Suitability of subject for public display • Public safety and vandalism • Municipal liability In considering this statue on City property, the Committee has expressed several concerns regarding the artistic merit, site suitability, and significance of the subject. Based on the site requirements of the WLCU-BC and the Committee's concerns it is the recommendation that Council direct staff to facilitate a meeting with the Province of British Columbia to find a site on provincial land to signify the provincial migration of Lebanese to British Columbia. Although this is the recommendation of the Art in Public Places Committee, the Council motion directed staff to identify potential site options. Over the past several months staff has worked with the WLCU-BC to identify and evaluate potential areas for the installation of "The Lebanese Emigrant' statue. Committee of the Whole Report June 14, 2016 Commemorating Lebanese Immigration to Canada Donation Request Page 3 of 7 The proposal from WLCU-BC requests that the statue be highly visible within the Inner Harbour, with their preference being a location on the main promenade within the Inner Harbour. Based on the links to the Inner Harbour and a highly visible location, staff narrowed the site options to areas around the Inner Harbour on City property. In addition to considerations noted by the proponent, staff assessed factors such as ease of maintenance, accessibility, maintaining a safe corridor for pedestrians and vehicles, crime prevention, impacts to existing monuments, public art works and memorials located at the site, as well as the use and character of the immediate area. Locations around the Inner Harbour were assessed by staff and three locations have been identified for Council consideration based on the criterion. During a site visit with staff, the preferred locations identified by the WLCU-BC were not City property, but owned by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority or the Province of British Columbia. The limited inventory of city owned property within the Inner Harbour narrowed the scope of available locations for consideration. Staff reviewed three potential locations with the proponents on City property; Centennial Park, Quadra Park and Cridge Park. The proponent's most desirable location among these options was located within Centennial Park. Sitel: Centennial Park Centennial Park includes a circular rock bed and plantings that were gifted to the City by the Province of British Columbia during the 1971 Centennial celebrations for the Province. The site is in close proximity to the Morioka Bell and a plaque commemorating the park by the Province. Committee of the Whole Report June 14, 2016 Commemorating Lebanese Immigration to Canada Donation Request Page 4 of 7 The Committee recommends avoiding the location of several memorials, public art works, and commemorations in any one location, however, based on the green space around this site, this is the recommended location for the statue. Site 2: Quadra Park Quadra Park includes a bust and plaque that commemorates the Spanish-American explorer Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra. The Art in Public Places Committee and staff have concerns with siting another commemoration in the Park based on the strong historical reference to Quadra and the proximity of the Quadra bust to the proposed statue. Committee of the Whole Report June 14, 2016 Commemorating Lebanese Immigration to Canada Donation Request Page 5 of 7 Site 3: Cridge Park Cridge Park provides a half hectare of valuable green space consisting of a lawn bowling green and treed area. The park was named after philanthropist Bishop Edward Cridge for his work in the community during the 1800s. It's current use as an important supporting landscape for three designated historic sites - Church of Our Lord, St. Ann's Academy and the Crystal Garden and constitutes a 'natural village green' for the Humboldt Valley neighbourhood. The tree canopy within the park, proximity to historical information panels about the Cridge Family and distance from the Inner Harbour, make this site selection less desirable for the statue. OPTIONS & IMPACTS Option 1 (Recommended) Advise The World Lebanese Cultural Union to make a request to the Province of British Columbia for the statue "The Lebanese Emigrant" to be sited on provincial land. City staff can facilitate and assist the World Lebanese Cultural Union with this request. Option 2 Accept the donation from the WLCU-BC organization and direct staff to install within one of the designated park locations identified in the report and direct staff to do further assessment of the site. Committee of the Whole Report June 14, 2016 Commemorating Lebanese Immigration to Canada Donation Request Page 6 of 7 a.