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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Advisory - 2002-03-14 DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES March 14, 2002 CITY OF KITCHENER The Downtown Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:10 p.m., Chaired by Councillor John Smola, with the following members present: Marty Schreiter, Anita Petsch-Good, Joan Euler, Mike Peng, Glen Woolner, Sally Gunz, Doug Hoch, Glen Woolner Others present: Brock Stanley, Catherine Heal, Michele Hodgins 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair John Smola welcomed DAC's newest member Glen Woolner, representing our Downtown Developer sector. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On motion by Marty Schreiter- it was resolved: "That the minutes from the February 14, 2002 meeting be accepted." 3. DAC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS 2002 Brock Stanley and Catherine Heal facilitated the discussions of DAC's objectives and goals for 2002. Brock explained that the Safe & Healthy Communities and Environmental Committee are doing strategic planning as well, and we could fashion our discussions along the same lines as these Committees. Brock then proceeded to ask the Committee members two key questions to generate discussion and ultimately getting our goals and objectives: "What is the City not doing well that it should be doing?" and "What is important of particular interest to you as a member of the Downtown Advisory Committee?" The following are Committee members' ideas: "What is the City not doing well that it should be doing?" · communicating to the public and working with the media · DAC should be a voice representing other citizens, sharing ideas with Council · over concentration of social agencies in some neighbourhoods · over concentration of social agencies in the downtown core (the above two points involve different planning issues) · improve relationship/partnership with police, more programs · outreach program to help people on the street · community centre in the downtown · closing of schools- effects children, transportation and neighbourhoods · Is the City doing enough about preventing population expansion in new suburban areas, which draw schools away from the downtown to those areas? · Can the City doing anything about school closings? · traffic: roads leading to the downtown being congested · implications of suburban development--> dispersed population --> subsequent relocation of services to accommodate needs --> distribution of services in relation to distribution of population --> dismantling of community fabric > general impact of urban sprawl · ensure people are informed and involved in downtown development · transit corridor/bus system, need to work with the Region · street workers is a good idea, they are more friendly than police · underlying issues: current property standards act as an economic incentive for irresponsible property owners to run Iow standard rooming houses · Property Standards should be improved and used as a way to solve consistent problems related to poorly managed buildings · esthetics of city-owned properties · new uses of centre block · lodging houses- management, location, distance separation, and property standard. Licensed lodging houses are not necessarily better run. · enforcement- possibility of controlling negative public behaviour, e.g., spitting, cigarette butts, street cleanliness "What is important or of particular interest to you as a member of the Downtown Advisory Committee?" · people who benefit from destroying downtown communities · to alleviate the negative perception against downtown neighbourhoods · strengthen the mix of housing · focus on the building vibrancy by restoring building faCade and upgrading property standards · improve the existing nice faCades · make original fa¢ade design of each building available to their owner so those property owners would have a better concept of how to restore the fa¢ades on their buildings. Restoring facades to their original appeal can be a way to bring people downtown · traffic conditions · increase community activities to bring people downtown, e.g., bring school children to the Children's Museum · adaptive re-use of 72 Victoria St. is good · retail is important to the vibrancy of the downtown; while the downtown is no longer the only focal retail destination, retail creates spin-off effects on the image of downtown, it makes the place people oriented · school closing decisions are based on new funding formula - financial reason vs. intangible community considerations (dismantling of communities) · health issues · narrow down ideas and act on them, accomplish some high priorities, don't spread ourselves [the committee] too thin · develop buildings into cultural venues · provide the public with a clear vision · be focused with actions, do a few things and do them well, be action-oriented, having too many things is hard for volunteers to be productive · use incentives to encourage good things, as opposed to using disincentives to discourage negative things · maybe a downtown compass to develop guiding principles · provide clear plans to guide private investment · form strategies to deal with people who are not co-operative with what the City is doing in the downtown · social agencies expanding in the downtown, e.g., House of Friendship building new housing in the downtown, need strong political will · address the imbalance of community/social planning, how to gain momentum to deal with it Staff will review comments and report back to the Committee all information given and discuss what key items the Committee want to focus on. 4. DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT TEAM UP-DATE (Staff & KDBA) · Centre block - public consultation process has begun with a public meeting held on March 5th with full attendance (standing room only!). The public seems very interested in what is happening in the downtown with regards to development. Participants included property owners, retailers, etc. The next public meeting is scheduled for March 19th. · During April and May on Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. City staff and the KDBA will be organizing tours of the downtown. · Demolition of properties on the new market site will start April 1st · New parking garage construction will start in June. The City and the Kitchener Downtown Business Association will be communicating with the public and monthly parking users about interruptions to parking and traffic. · Sports Caf~ and the Lyric are closed as of March 6th and March 9th. · 276 King St. W. (King & Water) building exterior/interior improvements have been made. This indicates a good sign that property owners in the downtown are taking pride in their properties and a positive upturn for the downtown. · Upgrading of lighting on Halls Lane and Bells Lane will be done after Julie Dean of Safe City prepares an assessment study. It was suggested that Goudies Lane could be considered in the future for lighting upgrades as well. · City staff have been receiving more inquiries from people interested in starting retail businesses in the downtown. · Celebrating Success 2002 - once again was a huge success. Held at the Walper Terrace Hotel, this year's theme was "The Stars Are Out" and Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Tina Turner were crowd pleasers. This was an opportunity to recognize businesses and citizens who continually strive for making our downtown a better place to live and do business. · KDBA's Annual General Meeting will be held on April 16th at the Four Points Sheridan, from 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. · Marty is the Chair for SCIPI funding for homelessness youth in Waterloo Region. · Marty has requested that the Downtown Development Team up-date a report on the number of seats in bars and restaurants in the downtown. The number of large bars has decreased in the past few years and KDBA feels its time for public information on this issue. · Homelessness - spring cleaning in the downtown is continuing, and the KDBA are recruiting homeless people for this clean up. $. NEW BUSINESS/AGENDA ITEMS · Much discussion on the House of Friendship addition of a high-density building. Committee members feel that we can't afford to have a large tower structure built at the existing site. Committee members strongly urged that political leaders push for a relocation of this addition. Marty Schreiter suggested inviting House of Friendship staff to discuss their plans for development and further discussion of Committee's views on this topic. ACTION: Michele will contact Deb Schlichter to arrange for discussion at our April meeting. · Marty Schreiter also suggested for a future DAC meeting to meet with the Mental Health Association to find constructive solutions to help people with mental issues · Doug Hoch gave an up-date from the Safe & Healthy Communities Committee. He noted that they are a very busy Committee that is going through a similar process of strategic planning. Doug did mention that their top two priorities are housing and municipalities' role in housing and youth and youth issues. · Joan Euler gave an up-date from EDAC (Economic Development Advisory Committee). Joan reported that the Committee discussed the widening of Victoria St. issue, and Economic Development and a new business program to attract businesses coming into the city and how to handle this issue. Some indication of overlapping efforts with CTT (Canada's Technology Triangle) and Randy Ellis, CEO of the CTT has been asked to come to EDAC and discuss how they are impacting each other. 6. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.