NANAIMO REGION
Provincial accountants expect significant growth
The province’s professional accountants project Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast’s economy should continue to show improvement through 2015. Page 3
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Page 5 Courtenay 2937 Kilpatri ck Ave 250-871-6074 Victoria 3501 Saanic h Road 250-382-5269 Nanaimo 3200 North Island Hwy 250-756-41 14
The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Thursday, September 10, 2015
» City
BUSINESS
Cost to prep hotel site for parking lot could hit $163K
Grocery stores may require rezoning to sell booze SPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS
Costs for street-lighting for the parking lot and landscaping are considered optional and total $26,000. The city report recommends that council does not proceed with the work. “As a pay parking lot, staff believes the lot will achieve a low utilization rate and will compete with the existing free on-street parking options and with the underground parking facilities next door,” the report says. It adds revenue from the lot would not recover costs that council should decide on a longterm use for the property before proceeding with any work. Council is set to discuss the report at Monday’s meeting.
City council is being asked to weigh in on possible changes to liquor licensing that would force grocery stores selling B.C. wines to apply for rezoning. The request from city staff to elected officials comes as new provincial rules on liquor licences come into effect, which will allow grocery stores to hold liquor licences for the first time. Two ways of selling alcohol are available to grocers. The first is a liquor retail store licence which will effectively allow either private or government liqour vendors to operate in grocery stores through a ‘store within a store’ model. The second way is new provincial regulations that allow grocery stores to sell B.C.-made wine, spirits and sake on grocery shelves. Currently, all liquor retail stores require site-specific zoning in the city, and a rezoning application would be required for an LRS licence that is auctioned off and relocated inside of a grocery store. However, the current zoning is silent on the sale of wine, ciders and sake in grocery stores, which city staff say could be considered a regular retail use under the current zoning. Council could decide to require rezoning for that use as well, a staff report says. Alternatively, council could amend the bylaw to allow the sale of those products as a regular permitted use. If the city opted to require a rezoning application from grocery stores hoping to sell liquor, that would entail costs for each business. Dale Lindsay, director of community development with the city, estimated that fees and other costs, such as consultants, can see a rezoning application run from $1,500 to $5,000.
Spencer.Anderson @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4255
Spencer.Anderson @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4255
The Gordon Street hotel site in Nanaimo may become a new parking lot. [SPENCER ANDERSON/DAILY NEWS]
Staff report recommends against alterations SPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS
I
t’s hardly paradise, so Nanaimo city council is considering paving it to put up a parking lot. The downtown Gordon Street hotel site is overgrown with weeds and, until recently, festooned with tattered signage promising a glimmering luxury hotel. However, doing so will cost between $72,500 and $163,000, depending on if the lot is paved or covered in gravel. And a city report ordered by council last month recommends against altering the site. The latest hotel deal for the property fell through in June, after city council voted 5-4 to refuse a one-year extension sought by Chinese developer SSS
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Manhao on a deadline to complete the building foundation for the project. Council later offered a sixmonth extension, but the developer withdrew, citing what it described as a lack of support from council on the project. Some council members had complained about a lack of communication from the developer to the city over delays to the project, as well as the increasingly-disheveled appearance of the project site. With the hotel deal dead, council unanimously passed a motion from Coun. Bill Bestwick — one of the councillors to vote against a one-year extension for the hotel project — to bring back a staff report on clean-up options and temporary, alternative uses for the parcel.
The report lays out two basic designs for a proposed parking lot and includes a breakdown of costs. According to the report, a gravel lot is the cheapest option, requiring $40,500 worth of site grading, top fill and recycled asphalt, plus just over $18,000 for engineering and cost contingencies, in addition to other costs. Full asphalt paving would be significantly more expensive, the report claims. Although site grading and fill costs would be about $30,000, asphalt and line painting would bring additional costs of $76,000. Other expenses include power hookup for parking meters, wheel stops and signage. Removal of fencing around the property has already happened, and was projected to cost $3,500.
Former Clippers mourn loss of Tony Gardner
Society hosts open house for sponsors
Longtime Nanaimo Clippers equipment manager left a lasting impression on those around him, say former team members Michael Olson and Bill Bestwick. » Sports, 6
The Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society will host an open house later this month in response to interest in assisting potential refugees. » Nanaimo Region, 3
Local news ............................. 3 Markets ................................... 2 Nation & World ................... 5
Editorials and letters ........ 4 Sports ..................................... 6 Scoreboard ............................ 7
Classified ............................... 9 Obituaries .............................. 9 Comics .................................... 8
Crossword ............................. 8 Sudoku ................................... 2 Horoscope ............................. 7
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Nanaimo Daily News and nanaimodailynews.com reach more than 60,000 readers each week in print and online. General inquires: 250-729-4200 | Newsroom: 250-729-4224 | To subscribe: 250-729-4266 | Copyright 2015. All rights reserved
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