Neighbourhood Plan Delayed
In light of the current economic situation, city officials have been pouring over their budgets, trying to get as much for their dollar as possible. One of the possible budget lines on the chopping block was the 2 neighbourhood plans slated for this year.
Now we’re not really sure about those other guys, but we believe that there is NO neighbourhood in the city undergoing as much change as the South End right now. A neighbourhood plan will:
- Allow us to plan for less light industrial and more residential.
- Give us the clarity to get involved in issues like wharf lands development.
- Help us better partner with downtown to deal with safety issues and Nicol Street improvements.
- Ensure that if/when the Sandstone and Cable Bay developments south of town ramp up, we won’t become the default high-traffic corridor to downtown.
So we sprung..er, sprang to action (dictionary.com says both words are good, so we did both..:) SECA board member Pat Portsmouth presented our case to City Council on March 16, and our board members attended council meeting on March 23. Pat reminded them that: 1) we’ve been very busy since we applied for the plan back in September 2007, 2) that we’re ready to go and that 3) we’re a thrifty bunch of volunteers. She and board Vice Chair Gord Fuller have been lobbying to get the votes we need from council to stay on the budget for this year. We’re optimistic…as usual…!
News coverage:
South-End Residents Want Promised Plan
Thanks to Matt Hussman at the Downtown Nanaimo Partnership for writing a letter of support for our plan.
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Deverill Square Park Improvements
You may have noticed some upgrades to the washroom building at Deverill Square Park. The Parks Recreation and Culture Department has been working to make them safer and universally accessible. The upgrades are nearing completion.
In addition, families in the South End can look forward to a new tricycle trail and spray park for summer 2009. Underground works will begin this April while paving and above ground work will be completed by June 15th (in time for the warm weather and Miner’s Picnic). The conceptual water park design and elements are pictured below.
Parking and road end upgrades along Irwin Street are also planned for fall 2009.
~Kirsty MacDonald
Parks and Recreation
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Omni Foods Moves To South End
The building at 106 Fry Street has been spiffed up and now houses Omni Foods. Omni Foods warehouses and distributes a wide variety of food items to convenience stores including Shell, Husky, Esso, Gas n Go, and the General Stores and Markets.
Originally located on Boban Road, they outgrew their former location and moved to the South End in December. Welcome to Barry, Donna, Dave and the rest of your staff, and thanks for the great reno job!
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Nanaimo VIPs attend SECA Meetings
We’ve been really fortunate over the past few months to have some great resource folks attend our meetings and give us updates. We’d like to say “thanks” to:
- Chris Sholberg, who is our neighbourhood plan expert
- Dave Laberge and Cameron Thompson from the RCMP, who have attended the past 2 meetings to give us updates on their efforts
- Matt Hussman from the Downtown Nanaimo Partnership, who has been keeping us abreast of their activities
- MLA Doug Routley, who dropped in in February
- Councillors Fred Pattje and Jim Kipp, who were great resources at our March meeting.
We know it takes extra time for you to come and attend, and we are really grateful for your ongoing support in the South End!
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Haliburton Loses a Bit of Traffic
Two houses containing illegal suites at 45 & 47 Haliburton Street were the source of inspection by the fire department, leading to tenant evictions. As well, the RCMP executed a search warrant at 47 Haliburton St on March 18, resulting in the arrest of numerous individuals and the seizure of drugs, money and weapons.
Links to news articles:
From the Nanaimo Daily News:
Hazards prompt fire chief to evict downtown tenants
Evicted tenants scramble to move :Fire department orders occupants to vacate dangerous illegal suites in downtown home
From the Nanaimo News Bulletin:
Tenants forced out of unsafe Nanaimo rental suites
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Fencing Guys Not Impacted by Recession!
Once upon a time this whole part of Esplanade had shrubs and was a problem area that attracted litter and vagrancy.
This fence has been recently installed; going all the way from the harbour truck entrance at Crace and Esplanade around the corner at Front Street.
Dog inspecting new fence just before christening it (if you know what I mean!)
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Laneway Clean-up Started
A small, creative group of folks met a few weeks ago to talk about the problems in the lane between Nicol and Haliburton Streets (200 block.) Five property owners took up our invitation to meet with a few SECA Board members, our Bylaw officer, Bill Kiselbach, and Chris Sholberg and John Horn from the City Planning Department.
As happens so often here in the South End, the discussion dealt with a very tough issue with loads of cooperation, good sense, empathy, creativity, and even a measure of fun! The group will begin forming a more detailed plan in the next few weeks, including both short- and long-term ways to deter drug-related activity in the lane. Look for some aesthetic improvement very soon!
Thanks to John Cross for providing the meeting space!
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