NANAIMO BETWEEN PAST AND FUTURE NANAIMO BETWEEN PAST AND FUTURE: Critical Perspectives on Growth, Planning and the New Nanaimo Centre Eric W. Ricker, editor Frances Christopherson, associate editor Published by Friends of Plan Nanaimo Society Nanaimo 2005 NANAIMO BETWEEN PAST AND FUTURE: Critical Perspectives on Growth, Planning and the New Nanaimo Centre Published in 2005 by Friends of Plan Nanaimo Society (with the assistance of private donors) P.O. Box 404, Station A Nanaimo, B.C., V9R 5L3 www.friendsofplannanaimo.net Printed in Helvetica and Calisto MT in 2005 by Impact Visual Communications, Nanaimo, B.C. Copyright © Friends of Plan Nanaimo Society, the editors and the contributing authors. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. Cover: Map of Nanaimo, c. 1860, courtesy of Nanaimo Community Archives Second Printing, 2006 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Nanaimo between past and future: critical perspectives on growth, planning and the new Nanaimo centre / editor, Eric W. Ricker; associate editor, Frances Christopherson. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-9739408-0-8 1. Urban renewal–British Columbia–Nanaimo. 2. City planning-British Columbia–Nanaimo. I. Ricker, Eric W., 1940- II. Christopherson, Frances, 1932- III. Friends of Plan Nanaimo Society HC118.N35N36 2005 307.1'416'097112 C2005-906494-3 To those gifted and gracious external experts who provided services pro bono publico Robert Bish Trevor Boddy Robert de Leeuw Angus McAllister Heywood Sanders John Stuart Lewis Villegas CONTENTS Acknowledgements xi Editor’s Introduction xv CRITICAL OVERVIEW 1. Friends of Plan Nanaimo, the New Nanaimo Centre Referendum and the Run-up to the 2005 Municipal Election Eric William Ricker 3 Part I HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NANAIMO’S MAJOR PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES 2. Saving the Downtown: Spare, Us O Lord, These Tendered Mercies Bill Juby 19 3. Of Ice and Men: The Politics of Procuring Ice Surfaces in Nanaimo Lawrence Rieper 31 4. Nanaimo’s Parks and Public Spaces: To Whom Do We Owe so Much? Eric William Ricker 47 Part II THE OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES 5. Politics and Planning in Nanaimo, 2004-2005 Don Stone 75 6. Urban Design in Nanaimo: One Citizen’s View Charles Christopherson 95 7. Nanaimo’s Neighbourhoods: A Commentary Charles Christopherson 103 Part III ISSUES SURROUNDING THE NEW NANAIMO CENTRE PROJECT 8. Nanaimo’s News: Summary of Referendum Coverage in Nanaimo’s Newspapers Naava Smolash 113 9. Conflict of Interest and the New Nanaimo Centre Campaign Wendy Potter 125 10. Politics of Exclusion: Social Impacts of the New Nanaimo Centre Gordon Fuller 135 11. Assessing, Taxing and Attacking your Castle in Nanaimo Ron Bolin 159 Part IV THE NEW NANAIMO CENTRE IN BROADER PERSPECTIVE 12. Convention Centre Realities and Urban Design Issues Trevor Boddy 175 13. The Canadian Convention Centre Market: A Preliminary Assessment Heywood Sanders 191 APPENDIXES A. From 5 to 52.5 in 4 – and More Ron Bolin 207 B. Observations on the Nanaimo Convention Centre-Hotel Proposal Robert Bish 211 C. New Nanaimo Centre Project: Risk Assessment Robert de Leeuw 215 D. Submission to the Inspector of Municipalities, December 16, 2004 Friends of Plan Nanaimo 221 E. Voting Procedure Violations and Irregularities: Second Submission to the Inspector of Municipalities, January 24, 2005 Friends of Plan Nanaimo 233 F. Press Release, May 2, 2005 (Summary of Dr. Sanders’ Presentations) Friends of Plan Nanaimo 245 G. Press Release, May 2, 2005 (Assembly Wharf Alternative Plan) Friends of Plan Nanaimo 253 H. Assembly Wharf Alternative, Plan View 259 I. Assembly Wharf Alternative, Oblique View 261 J. New Nanaimo Centre: A Public Opinion Survey of Residents of the City of Nanaimo, Highlights Report, July 2005 McAllister Opinion Research 263 K. FPN Endorsed Candidates for City Council, November 2005 and a Brief Message to Voters 267 L. Nanaimo Businesses: The Exodus from Downtown and the March to the North Lawrence Rieper 273 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 285 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Friends of Plan Nanaimo Society provided a grant-in-aid of publication. There were also several private donations. Pro bono services provided by Lewis Villegas, Robert Bish and Robert de Leeuw, Trevor Boddy, Heywood Sanders and John Stuart to Friends of Plan Nanaimo Society over the past year are gratefully acknowledged. The contributions of all but Mr.Villegas appear either as chapters or appendixes. Mr. Villegas’ sample design work for a revitalized downtown, too lengthy to be reproduced in this book, may be viewed in the archives section of the Friends of Plan Nanaimo Society website: www.friendsofplannanaimo.net Fred Pattje routinely hosted the work group that met to generate and discuss ideas for the book. McAllister Opinion Research of Vancouver donated time and personnel for the survey research referred to in the overview and summarized in an appendix. Special thanks are owed to Angus McAllister, Nicola Gentles and Steven Harng. xi EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION This collection of essays is an offshoot of the educational work of Friends of Plan Nanaimo (FPN) Society. It consists of chapters written by members of the society as well as two external experts who made important contributions to our public speakers’ series in the spring of 2005. The book is a response to the New Nanaimo Centre (NNC) referendum, the politics of development and the never-ending quest to revitalize the downtown. It also contains chapters on the broader context of development and the revitalization problem – considered both locally and internationally. It has three main purposes and one ancillary purpose. The first purpose is to provide information and critical perspectives on the NNC and related issues for the voting public to consider in advance of the fall 2005 municipal election. The NNC referendum result and other development issues will almost certainly be the most prominent issues of the campaign, just as they have been the central issues in Nanaimo ever since the referendum was announced in September of 2004. The second purpose is to establish both an historical and a contemporary context for understanding the politics of development in downtown Nanaimo. Why is downtown revitalization an issue? How long has it been an issue and what happened in the past to make it one? Why have various proposed solutions to the problem proven to be either ineffective or elusive? What else can we learn from history about public endeavours to provide public amenities, such as parks and recreation facilities? The third purpose is to establish a record for posterity on some of the important development issues of the past year. What were the issues surrounding the NNC project that prompted an opposition movement? Exactly what was and is at stake? What happened and why? No matter what the eventual outcome of the NNC question is – and at the time of writing it is not entirely clear what it will be – in future years this record of the major events surrounding the NNC referendum process, viewed from the standpoint of those who opposed the NNC project, will be available and it will be valuable. xv An additional word about the book’s value in this latter respect is in order. As well as being of interest to future historians, this book will be of interest to future citizens’ groups who lock horns with City Hall. Had members of the Concerned Citizens Committee (CCC) of the1970s and 1980s documented their successful battles to save parkland, the waterfront and the Nanaimo River estuary, it would have been of great benefit to our organization and to the community at large. The past always holds valuable lessons for the present and the greatly successful CCC had lessons to teach. No matter what the eventual outcome of the current civic debate over the NNC is, then, the story of FPN’s involvement will make an important contribution to a proper understanding of civic politics at this point in time. The ancillary purpose of this book is to provide a collection of documents and records that provide further information on key developments during the past year. These are contained in the appendixes. The book is organized into four sections following Eric Ricker’s critical overview, “Friends of Plan Nanaimo, The New Nanaimo Centre Referendum and the Run-up to the 2005 Municipal Election” (Chapter 1), which provides a context for considering the events of the past year as well as some of the chapters that elucidate particular issues and themes. Part I, “Historical Perspectives on Downtown Revitalization and the Development of Nanaimo’s Major Parks and Recreation Facilities,” commences with Bill Juby’s “Saving the Downtown: Spare Us, O Lord, These Tendered Mercies” (Chapter 2), a comparative study of two earlier efforts to revitalize the downtown, the first based on the apparent need for a luxury waterfront hotel, the second on the apparent need for a parking lot and extra roadway, with today’s approach, based on a conference centre. It is followed by Lawrence Rieper’s “Of Ice and Men: The Politics of Procuring Ice Surfaces in Nanaimo,” a complex tale of sacrifice, devotion to community and the forgetfulness that often accompanies the rush to do something new (Chapter 3). Part I concludes with Eric Ricker’s “Nanaimo’s Parks and Public Spaces: To Whom Do We Owe So Much?” (Chapter 4), which explores the fascinating politics underlying xvi the acquisition and development of Nanaimo’s most prominent parks. Part II, “The Official Community Plan: Problems and Perspectives,” begins with FPN President Don Stone’s, “Politics and Planning in Nanaimo, 2004 – 2005” (Chapter 5), an examination of OCP issues that came to the forefront over the past year and the reasons underlying the abandonment of key elements of the Official Community Plan.