.
With yet another Official Community Plan (OCP) in the making and its purpose being ...to guide community activities in a coordinated, sustainable manner that will sustain (sic) and enhance Nelson's economic, environmental, cultural and social fabric - I wonder particularly about sustaining and enhancing the economic fabric.
Which is in tatters, and I don't see in the OCP how these tatters are to be held - even put back - together, although hardly any item in the Plan could get off the ground without appropriate financial backing.
Which the City would/will be hard-pressed to find today and tomorrow. What with unemployment numbers and real-estate prices being up - what a combo! - and construction being down. And people taking and holding onto whatever job they can get, seeing that Nelson can only support so many Pilates teachers and website designers.
We are not doing well, but in our Brigadoon-fog busy with keeping busy, as if the economy were a side-issue. Sort-of like dog-doo on Baker instead of Baker per se.
Community Heritage Commission (CHC)
Having no industrial base, Nelson's economy will not improve unless Nelson reinvents itself - as it did in the 80s. The assumption then, that with the acknowledgement of its roots everything Nelson would be taken care of ever after, made heritage the password for everybody. The CHC was born and put in charge of Nelson. Not as a driving force of its economy - just Nelson! The concept of heritage was never connected with a conscious approach to economic sustainability. Commission-members always have been detail-people only. Good at that but divorced from economic reality, with Nelson's business community waiting.
And still waiting today to be taken care of.
The CHC recorded/catalogued heritage this-and-that, and in the process made those structures more and more exclusive, untouchable - as such first, then demanding and receiving buffer-zones around them and then all of downtown Nelson. This meant: no room for individualistic here-now expression - thus little development in/of the core. Downtown became stagnant - while possibly heritage-correct - and dull.
As an example - the Hudson's Bay building, which could be attractive: with clean facade, clean awnings, flower boxes under its windows, appropriate signage and a bright, inviting entrance - is a monstrosity in all these aspects. And - predictably - because of that finds few interested in shopping/opening a business there.
Then the CHC ran out of stuff to tweak: in 2011 it posted minutes of its meetings on the City's website 6 times only (and that after being nudged) - although generally there would be monthly meetings - and in 2012 it has posted none so far.
With less control through heritage, the CHC by-and-by has attempted to transfer its addiction to being the local game-caller to non-heritage decisions - which Council allowed. Even when clearly not part of the CHC bylaw.
This went as far as in 2011 the CHC attempting to rewrite its bylaw to the effect that: it was going to be the gate-keeper, filter for any kind of new development anywhere in Nelson! All development-proposals would be vetted by the CHC first and - if deemed worthy - handed on to Council for actual consideration.
Nelson's economic woes are to a large extent attributable to the CHC - over years - developing and tightening a strangle-hold on the City's growth. While allowing its Holy Grail - the downtown-core - to become run-down. From untouchable to untouched. How visionary is that!
The Community Heritage Commission would be more accurately named: Nelson-Uphill White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant-Colonial-BC-Heritage-Only Commission, seeing that it has never acknowledged the local heritage of Asian members of the COMMUNITY! This month is Asian Heritage Month in Canada thus BC - but not in Nelson!
The APC has grown so close to the CHC that the City Planner often functions as its spokesman - as he did when he defended the CHC's intended power-grabbing bylaw-adjustment and lack of transparency, during my presentation of the matter to the COW, Oct. 2011.
Indicative of the problem here with which way to go: planning as such is usually directed towards the future and heritage as such towards the past. Development ought to be favored, with due consideration given to heritage - but in Nelson this has been the reverse.
The APC posted minutes of its meetings on the City's website 7 times in 2010, 3 times in 2011 and none at all so far in 2012.
Cultural Development Commission (CDC)
By definition of its name and sometimes vague bylaw - the CDC would be a go-to commission, concerning the OCP's cultural and social fabric. But instead of being proactive in socio-cultural development as a whole for the Whole - it has been satisfied with nibbling away on smallish arty projects.
While worrying about funding, although it could/should be an established socio-cultural prime-force, with the CHC as an adjunct.
The CDC and CHC often bump into each other, partly because wide allowances are being made for the CHC, while the CDC just wants to be liked. And the CHC has taken-on - without a mandate - decision-making within CDC territory.
The CDC published minutes of its meetings on the City's website 10 times in 2011 and none at all so far in 2012.
For an in-depth look at the CDC/CHC relationship, go to post:
Nelson: Strings Attached
Sep. 12, 2011
With the City's economic future clearly being in tourist-dollars - and a shabby heritage-ghetto clearly not having them roll in - Nelson as such has to become a uniquely colorful and lively destination!
Baker Street in color - as it is being done with heritage-buildings all over the world, including the mother of BC-colonial heritage - Victoria!
Baker Street's heritage buildings painted exuberantly, their detailing brought-out by a variety of colors! Flower boxes, pennants, new awnings!
In the evening: the street brightly (and flatteringly!) lit and closed to vehicular traffic; stores open; side-walk dining; strolling musicians - for tourists to safely bring their families, a meeting-place for locals. THE place to hang-out for everybody - and spend money!
For a closer look at Nelson reinvented go to posts:
Nelson: (T)arting-Up The Place
Sep. 4, 2011
Nelson In living Color
Dec. 1, 2011
Nelson: Waterfront And Downtown Plan
Mar. 7, 2012
Material of Nelson In Living Color is already available to the CHC, City Planning and Councillor Baticky, through a presentation I made to the CHC.
Certainly reinventing the downtown-core - thus Nelson - will take money, but the City and its business community will have to accept at some point: if you want to make money - you need to spend money first. A basic business principle, too long - like years! - disregarded in favor of waiting for the heritage-angle to kick-in!
For Nelson to gather sustainable economic force, a second renaissance is necessary. This will need considerable broadening of its mindscape!
The new director of the - deep breath! - Nelson Kootenay Lake Destination Tourism Marketing Organization - a group long in words and short in substance - is predictably (still, after 5 years here!) blown away by the area's multitude of diverse cultural and recreational offerings. Thus her marketing-strategy for the area may become more verbose yet - and even less reality-supported/supportable. After all - we can only be who we are, and we gots what we gots!
Head to the Kootenay Bakery Cafe with a book but prepare to be distracted by the gorgeous scenery, fascinating people and sin-fully good food.
Visitors' Choice - Nelson & Kootenay Lake
Noteworthy - and a step in the right direction for this same publication and possibly the organization as such - is a photo of the only colorful bit of Baker - during the day, for shopping, strolling - and another photo of the same colorful bit from a different angle - at night, for bar-hopping.
Buildings supplyig this bit of color are 338-340 Baker and the Royal - the only more distinctively colorful ones - even though dirty - in the downtown-core; their picture showing up more and more and in more contexts these days.
A big part of broadening the Nelson mindscape will need to be looking at the CHC, APC and CDC closely: objectively determining their usefulness-now!, in terms of a focused substantive contribution towards Nelson's economic well-being - directly/indirectly.
Within this contribution needs to be the establishment of a repository for creative ideas - open to all - instead of relying on the same old same old, who - after all - have so far not been particularly creative in getting the elusive cultural tourist to come!
.
No comments:
Post a Comment