Cow Bay Business owners push back on City's plans for Parking area

 

Plans to reduce some of the Cow Bay Parking lot space is giving local merchants
cause to remind the City who has helped pay for the lot

The City's surprise announcement last month of plans to dispose of some property in the Cow Bay Area and with it a section of the parking area on Cow Bay Road has caught the attention of those that would be most impacted by the plans.

In late June, the City announced that it had put the land up for sale at a price of 154,00 dollars, part of the plan was to build a temporary parking lot further down George Hills Way to account for the loss of parking in the Cow Bay Road lot.

Towards the plans for the temporary Parkin space, so far there's not much in the way of earth moving taking place on George Hills Way to suggest that the Parking lot is on the horizon.

There's no indication yet that the plans for a temporary parking lot
along George Hills way is ready for development 

When it comes to the concerns of the area merchants and services in the Cow Bay Area, a correspondence to the City which has been forwarded to the NCR, provides a glimpse as to how they are viewing the surprise announcement, with a lack of communication from the City the key element of their concerns.

The letter which calls for a halt to the proposed sale of the Cow Bay Parking lot offers up a few reminders for City Council and staff.

Among them, the financial contribution that many of the merchants provide to the city towards the Parking lot in close vicinity to their businesses. 

The local merchants  also observe that the proposed temporary lot is not quite as accessible to their business as the city has suggested.

The key element however is the lack of dialogue from the city related to their plans prior to the publishing of the property disposition notice.

There has been no direct notice to any of the affected business. 

No detailed drawing to how this sale will impact the parking and what the actual usable parking configuration will be if it was to proceed. 

We have been told this will be a boat building but also read it is mixed use, there is no rendering of the proposed development and what the mixed use will actually be. 

Your post from the 27th states that the temporary gravel parking you are proposing as compensation is only a minute walk witch is far from the truth and as it says, is temporary.

The Cow Bay business community has also called for a delay in the sale.

We ask this sale be postponed for sixty days so that a legal opinion can be obtained and that the city can provide better information to deal with the area business concerns .

So far there has been no public announcement from the city related to the Cow Bay business concerns.

In a recent commentary for the weekly paper, Mayor Herb Pond acknowledged that the city could have been better at communication when it comes to the plans for the Cow Bay Area, observing how it had not been the best approach from a public relations standpoint.

The Cow Bay concerns make for just the latest expression of frustration with how the city informs residents from the public, particularly when it comes to land issues related to development.

Two housing proposals in recent weeks have also raised the ire of residents who have expressed their concerns over a lack of engagement from City Council and civic staff, those come from the plans for an apartment complex at Hays Cove and Frederick Street and the plans for housing adjacent to Prince Rupert Middle School.

With Council on a more relaxed schedule for Council meetings, with the next not set to take place until July 24th, the Cow Bay Parking controversy will likely simmer on the burner for a few more weeks.

Whether it makes for a discussion point at the next Council session won't be known until Mayor Pond bans the gavel in eleven days.

More notes on City Council themes can be reviewed from our archive page.