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Downtown revitalization study moves closer

A motion supporting a $20,000 Northern Development Initiative Trust grant application for a downtown revitalization study was approved at last night's city council meeting.

The City's portion of the estimated $150,000 study is $55,000 – which is earmarked in the current capital projects budget – and the remaining $75,000 will hopefully come from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Fund if an application by the City is successful.

A planning charrette – bringing together a cross section of stakeholder, planners, business professionals, community leaders and the public at large – will be employed to create an ownership in the process by all parties involved.

Councillor Larry Evans said this type of study has been tossed around for many years now.

“There was one done in the early 1980s but they met with opposition from the downtown core so it died a natural death. It has been coming for as long as I can remember,” Evans said.

“I look forward to this study.”

City manager Dianne Hunter said members of the public involved in meetings about sustainable neighbourhoods and other consultations, said they liked the process.

“The response we had from the community was that they wanted to see a charrette for the downtown area.”

Coun. Lori Ackerman asked if building owners as well as the business tenants, would be included.

Hunter said a cross section would be included.

“You would also have your engineers, your architects, the chamber of commerce, other businesses and property owners. You really want to get all of those opinions at the table.”

Ackerman noted that a similar study attempted in Kitchener–Waterloo, Ont. did not include all stakeholders and as a result failed.

“That is not what we are looking for. We are looking for action items to move forward with.”

Mayor Bruce Lantz added that it would be important to include property owners that lived outside of Fort St. John either through their representing property management companies or from an invitation to participate.

“As we go forward we need to think about that because without that participation the process will be flawed.”

Lantz said the charrette process is a “multi dimensional form of engagement” as opposed to one driven by one or more special interest groups, which leads to a higher level of buy-in by all affected parties.

In addition to the City, chamber of commerce, property owners and citizens, other groups like the Fort St. John Community Arts Council and recreational user groups could also be included, depending on which boundaries are used to define the downtown area.

“As long as the base is committed to the process then having a broad base can generate some significant results and provide the foundation to go forward.”

Lantz said the charrette process would be transparent.

“The charrette process would be a very public process. The public would be engaged and involved all the way along the line and if there was money coming through taxpayer dollars they would have an understanding of that before the decision was ever made.”

Ackerman said a project the size of revitalizing the downtown core could take many years over several stages.

“It would be done in phases. You would not be doing it all at once where you have this huge cost to the community. The result of this whole process could come out with an eight to 10 year plan to phase things in.”

“It is not going to happen overnight,” added Evans.

“You have to start somewhere and I think this charrette is the place to start.”

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