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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Adv - 2009-05-14 DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES May 14, 2009 City of Kitchener The Downtown Advisory Committee met this date, chaired by Glenn Scheels; with the following members in attendance: Peter Hammond, Councillor Christina Weylie, Tamara Minns, Don Zehr, Alan Anderson, Lisa Polonoski, Jamie Yantzi, Denis Pellerin, Bryan Larkin, Peter Hammond, Bernie Nimer, Mark Garner Staff in attendance: Silvia Wright, Janette MacDonald, Cory Bluhm, Sandy Curzon, Tony Konstantinidis, Siobhan Delaney Discussion Items Minutes & Agenda Approval of Minutes On motion by Mark Garner, seconded by Bernie Nimer, that the minutes of the April meeting be approved. Advisory Committee Updates EDAC – Bernie Nimer provided the committee with an update on EDAC, advising that EDAC has been having similar discussion that DAC has in terms of Centre Block and the Long Term Parking Strategy. SAHAC – no update at this time. New Business Downtown Monitoring Report / Trends and Indicators Janette MacDonald, Technical Analyst, Economic Development provided the Committee with an overview of the Trends and Indicators report, previously known as the Downtown Monitoring Report. The Committee provided the following questions and comments: There is an indication that residence status has not changed much, why is that, do we have vacancy rates that are too high or too low? There has been a healthy increase of approximately 800, which we o would consider to be a fairly high increase What are the office vacancy rates 2008 – 8.8% has been a steady decease, with the Tannery coming o on board shortly it will change those numbers. It is important to not that the Tannery is a larger office space, which will are seeing a need for Residential component is good – businesses in the downtown, the downtown became the place that no one went to – except for the students that come into the downtown for the bars we have had similar experiences in our downtown and it is not o uncommon; however, landlords are looking for rent to come in and that can be perceived as negative although we can not control that directly, we can influence it, we have been working on this, pulling together stakeholder groups to discuss this very subject we are trying to make everyone aware – we are always trying to create incentives and catalysts. Is there a point when the city says okay we have enough bars or restaurants or discount stores etc., is it possible to not allow for more of what we already have? there is currently no legislation that allows for control of which o businesses open and where. There can be influence through small working groups, but we need to understand that these are private decisions and out of government control. The KBIA feels that there needs to be balance for the core and if it is only a business community that is going to attract the 9 to 5 crowd then there is imbalance. The KBIA is working with building owners to help them understand the long term image and goals of the downtown. Long Term Parking Strategy Cory Bluhm, Urban Investment Advisor, Economic Development provided a presentation on the Long Term Parking Strategy. The Committee provided the following feedback: Did staff look at the cost comparisons, as some property owners are having to subsidies parking which in turn affects the bottom line. We did look at that – we don’t’ want to price ourselves out of the o market. We compared ourselves with suburban Kitchener and Waterloo, Central Kitchener, Uptown Waterloo. What about the garage at Benton Street and Charles Street $250 per space per month for 20 years to cover the cost of the o project and we are charging $110 and it should take us 12 years to match up with the rates. Offsetting the revenue from one lot to pay for another Increase in parking rates – 6% per year – it was the most comfortable rate that we could come up with, it is save. We are looking to maintain that 6% increase until 2023. Council has indicated they are more interested in a user cost system than they are putting the money up front How closely does parking work with transit – can you cap the cost of transit to keep people on them - one of the major things that came out of the transit study was that the 3 cities align their parking costs to help keep transit riders on the bus and attract new ones One of the recommendations is that we review our parking requirements to ensure that we are getting paid what we need to be paid. Right now 7 out of 10 are driving but we are only charging 4 out of 10 The implementation of the rapid transit project will also assist in this. We just need a balance. The day of free parking is going to be a thing of the past. Façade Update: This year was the first year for the façade grant program there is $10,000 per façade and up to $30,000 for three storefronts available. We worked with the previous DAC group to design the standards. This year we had 30 to 35 inquires, with 21 applications submitted. Our budget allowed for $200,000 in grant money this year. The internal review team looked at all applications and 11 of the 21 were successful. Of the approved applications, 8 properties are on King Street, in the reconstruction zone and the remaining 3 are off of King Street. The total proposed amount that business / property owners will invest is triple the amount the City will invest Mark Garner thanked the entire team for the work they did on this. Updates: Go transit is coming to the city by the fall. Rapid Transit are hosting open house presentations next week with recommendation for light rail transit in Kitchener and Waterloo with connections to Cambridge by rapid transit. Downtown Building Owners Group – scheduled to meet in June, looking at vitality and attraction. They requested that the By-law Division provide a presentation at the next DAC meeting. King Street Streetscape – direction of construction route has changed and one block at a time will be done – Gaukel Street to Ontario Street will be extended a little more but will be complete. It is the best solution for this first phase, then we will work on any adjustments that may be required for the remaining phasing. We are going to do what we can to keep this on schedule and keep the September completion date. Charles and Benton parking is moving forward, the crane is there now and they are moving along. Courthouse met today to look at proposals. Competition closes in July and construction should start much later. What about having tours right now, open it up to the businesses and have them walk King Street E-mail Silvia Wright with potential time availability and she o will set them up Meeting adjourned at 5:58.