City of Powell River officials will be consulting with the public about a proposal to have a town clock, some green space and parking on a vacant lot that is currently used only for parking.
In 2010, MABA (Marine Area Business Association) launched a fundraising initiative to purchase a town clock. The group then approached council in December 2011, requesting to locate it on the vacant lot on the southeast corner of Marine Avenue and Alberni Street. The concept included creating green space, along with benches.
Although the city-owned lot is not a designated parking lot, employees of businesses in the area park there. However, the city puts up a Christmas tree in the lot each year and there is no parking during six weeks of the holiday season.
After the December 2011 presentation, council referred the issue to staff. Diana Collicutt, planning coordinator, presented a report at the November 1 committee-of-the-whole meeting that outlined a mixed-use proposal with some parking surrounded by green seating areas and a location for the clock on the northwest corner of the lot. Staff recommended holding a public consultation meeting about the proposal, as well as further review of the zoning bylaw to consider options and solutions to address parking issues in the area.
In preparing the proposal, staff undertook a parking inventory. They divided Marine at Burton Street and looked at how many parking spaces were required north and south of it. They counted all the existing parking spaces and discovered that there are more than the required number south of Burton, but 106 fewer north of Burton.
If the proposal advances, the lot would require improvements to vehicle and pedestrian safety, Collicutt said, including widening the east end access. Currently, the lot is not an officially designated parking site, she added. “It is unsafe getting in there,” she said. “In order for that configuration to take place, we would have to widen the access and negotiate with the land owner to the south for about a 2.5-metre-square area right of way across their land, to recognize it as a place where you can actually park.”
Cathy MacDonald, MABA president, addressed the committee at the beginning of the meeting. She said the association was in favour of having a public consultation meeting to discuss the proposal.
MacDonald pointed out that the staff proposal calls for 11 parking stalls on the lot and MABA would like nine spots, to allow for more green space for the clock. She also asked where the Christmas tree would be located if the proposal was adopted and who the parking spots would be for, employees of businesses in the area or shoppers. “Will it be one hour parking, two-hour parking, all day parking?” she asked.
As well, MacDonald pointed out that the association has never had a complaint when the Christmas tree is displayed. “Those people can find other places to park,” she said.
The proposal was referred to council and, at the November 15 meeting, council passed two motions. One was to hold a public consultation meeting with business owners in the area and MABA members. The second directed staff to review the parking provisions in the zoning bylaw to address parking availability along Marine and Willingdon Avenue and develop a plan to enhance accessibility to all parking that is available in the area.
