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Stantec Zoning Plan May Not Be Your Idea of City Needs

By Ben Meisner

It was about three or four years ago the city hired a fellow (his name now even escapes me) to come up with a plan for the down town of the city . He  did indeed come up with a plan.  It was to construct a downtown farmers market, theatre, skating area, sort of a place of all places at a cost of around forty million of our money. 

He laid the idea before city hall who couldn’t get out of their seats fast enough to be clear of him and the only person that came away with some coin in their pocket was the man who put together the plan.  Oh he did say he wanted to have Wal –Mart located downtown. They said thanks but no thanks and headed for Highway 16 west. You folks at City Hall correct me if I’m wrong, the tab was for around 160 grand,  and the paper from that report is far too stiff  to be used  for anything but holding up the basement floor at city hall.
 
Now we are being told that we have hired on a new company Stantec, who have credentials from cities in Florida, Michigan and Arizona to name a few, with some stops in places like Calgary and Edmonton. The mission line is “Emphasis should be on what’s right for the community “. Great idea and really what planning is supposed to be all about. The community saying just how it wants to grow and where, along with how it should be within the confines of the existing city. 

Now how in the world Stantec can reach into our minds and come up with what we think is a bit beyond me. Oh to be sure they are holding a meeting (June 21st at the City Hall annex between 5.30 and 9.00 PM) to get your input into how you feel the city should go.  Now do you suppose they will take the problem of the Connaught- Miller Addition- Hooker- drug dealer - homeless  problem and ensure that zoning is handled in such a manner to eliminate for example a homeless shelter on Queensway , which (according to our Premier) is about to get the old rubber stamp in a rezoning application?  Or are you more inclined to believe that a plan will be put forward of what someone from Stantec, along with some bureaucrats from city hall, want and it will be submitted for City Council to put its stamp of approval on it? 

Do you feel as though you could make a difference by attending this meeting and suggesting the down town shouldn’t be a catchment area for all of the drug dealers, homeless, pawn shops, soup kitchens and shoot up centers in the city? I’m sure you will receive a warm reception but you’re thoughts about what the city needs, I’m sorry, we left that up to Stantec remember? 

That, is one man's opinion.
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