12/23/2021
Here is the address to Council on Dec 14, 2021
Village Green Revitalization
Mention endorsements from Pioneer Boat works, Shipwreck Pizza, Foggy Bean
Thank you for the opportunity to address Mayor and Council on the proposed Village Green Revitalization. I would prefer to call it the Historic Commercial Downtown Devitalization.
I can’t think of a retail shop in Ucluelet that does not have parking available in front of the business. A retail business is dependent on accessible parking to interact with their customers and the community. I thought businesses were not allowed to exist without parking.
Retail stores exist where that are, because of accessibility. A retail store would not choose a location without these public interactions, without parking, without accessibility. We have all heard the expression. Location, location, location. For 120 years the old general store has been the original location.
You can carry the most interesting or alluring inventory but if customers cannot easily access it, they won’t see it and they won’t buy it.
Let’s go over the map and count all the parking slots that this proposal would like to remove. I have given you all a copy of the map with the numbers of existing parking places that would be eliminated.
So let’s start in front of The Crow’s Nest, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, employee parking beside the store, 6, 7 and across the street 8, 9 and up Main Street by the Municipal Office new crosswalk, 10, 11, 12 and across the street 13, 14. Now let’s go down below the municipal Office 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and across the street 23, 24, 25. These 25 parking places are from the municipal walkway down Main street and around the corner on Fraser lane to half way down the waterfront parking section. That is 25 vehicles with multiple passengers who park, get out and walk all around the downtown core. That’s just this corner, all in front of my store. I have counted 33 removed parking spaces in total but I could easily have missed some.
With 33 spaces removed it places enormous pressure on the remaining parking. Early morning charter customers, employees going to work to name a few would use up a large portion of the remainder. Then what? I have been told several times that it will be better for the pedestrians. Where are these pedestrians supposed to come from? The Charter people are out on the boats and the employees have gone to work, so they are not the pedestrians. OK so some people could park up the hill, in the Co-op parking lot, and walk down, but why? You cannot see the Aquarium from there or the Crow’s Nest or the Village Green. “I hope there is something down there because I will have to walk back up. Maybe not”
When was the last time anyone here walked up or down that hill by necessity or by choice? As one person said to me “That hill defeats people”. Not everyone is a hiker or a walker.
When Netflix was here last summer, they constructed a façade on the front of my building. It was supposed to take a day and took more like 6 days then 2 days of filming and 2 days of tear down. I always had at least 2 and some days 3 parking spots available for those 10 days. While Netflix was in front of my store, my sales dropped by 50%.
I was shocked. I did not expect the partial lack of access to have such a drastic impact. It was easy to calculate and clear as a bell. 10 days before Netflix, 10 days of Netflix and 10 days after Netflix, 50% loss of revenue while they were there. Netflix agreed when we looked at the numbers to pay me 50% more that our original agreement just to cover the lost revenue. And let me repeat I still had 2 or 3 parking places through all this and the other 22 spaces around the store. It was suggested to me that the whole downtown was blocked off, but I am not referring to the 2 days of filming. I am referring to the whole 10 days they were in front of my store when the roads were not blocked off, just access to my store. These are clear and undeniable facts. We do not have to guess what will happen and what the impact will be.
So what happens when the closest 25 parking spaces are gone? All access to my building is gone? Not just half of the parking in front of my store but all parking in front of my store is gone and the closest 20 other parking spaces? We know it will be at least 50% reduction in sales. It is very clear that the impact would be huge. And that is just July and August. What about the other 10 months of the year?
We all know the climate is changing and weather events are more severe. We have seen that just recently. How would older tourists, who avoid July and August, access the store? As you drive down Main Street and you come into view of the building, you are already almost out of parking options. So on a rainy day you just drive on by. I have asked tourists who have shopped in the last couple of weeks “would you have stopped if you could not pull in at the front of the store? Almost to a person they said “no, we would have just kept going.”
You will see on the survey I have given you that almost everyone said they would be “less likely” to shop at the Crow’s Nest with the removal of 25 parking spaces. I’ll read you the survey. You will notice there is a variety of residences noted on the survey, both local and tourist. They all said they would not park up the road especially in the sideways rain or even light rain. Many people need easy access, seniors, disabled, mothers with children and almost everyone on a stormy day. I’ll give time to look this over.
We have a lot of seniors in our community and let’s remember Ucluelet is designated as an Age Friendly Community. We at Forest Glen were happy to support the Districts bid for this designation. This is not Age Friendly parking. People in wheel chairs have told me that even a slight incline on a rainy day causes them to lose traction.
Given all the impediments to my business in the September – June months, I predict I would be down at least 75%. My business cannot not survive this model. The ability for customers to easily access a business is it’s most important asset for success. No access no business.
I have owned the Crow’s Nest for 43 years. I have owned the historic building since 1988. I feel I am a custodian of the beautiful historic general store. I have happily kept it alive and authentic. People love seeing an original general store and are delighted to hear how the building faces the water and that everything came by boat, and that freight and mail were wheeled up the dock into the building. The evolution of a coastal community. How easy will it be to image those days with manicures corners and shrubs?
We all shut down at the beginning of Covid, but this is a small town and we all know each other. Very quickly I started getting phone calls at home. I need a printer cartridge, I need printer paper, I need school supplies, I am home schooling, I am working from home, I need art supplies, I need Covid posters printed and laminated. I don’t think I realized that I was an essential business until that point. I was one of the first businesses to re-open with all the protocols in place. Ucluelet wanted the Crow’s Nest OPEN.
By this drawing the historic building is in an isolated corner, cut off from the road, with no parking access with shrubs planted in front of it. We all know what happens to shrubs in the rainforest. They grow. So now there is no access and no visibility. Ucluelet’s historical building is relegated to a back corner of insignificance. It will no longer be suitable for a retail business.
And let’s talk about the new parking lot. Businesses downtown were led to believe that it was additional parking, not replacement parking. We need more parking not less parking. No one parks back there from Sept to June because it is too far in the rain or cold or when it gets dark at 5 o’clock. I feel I have been misled on this whole parking lot concept and it feels deceptive. There was never a drawing of the proposed walkway through my property that showed no parking in front of my store, nor was it ever mentioned. Was that intentional? Have I been hoodwinked?
So what happens if the Crow’s Nest can no longer make it? Well, I guess I sell the everything. But what is it worth now that the building has absolutely no access? The value will be in the land not the building. Mind you there is lots of first growth wood in that building so demolition could raise some money. I expect a new investor would want to take advantage of the incredible view down the Harbour so probably a 3 story condo, not with shops below, because there is no access, so maybe offices. For what I don’t know.
Anyway! What is your vision? Where did this vision come from? Who is it for? This is not a vision for the Crow’s Nest. This is not a vision for any other small businesses downtown. This is not a vision for tourists. This is not a vision for local taxpayers, who elected you, who would like access to their downtown and their local businesses. This is not a vision for seniors. This is not a vision for anyone with a handicap. This is not a vision for mothers with children. And I would say this is not vision for our local economy. And it certainly is not a vision for my employees. Or for me.
I have a vision. So does every entrepreneur in town. Without a vision people do not go into business, risk their investments and time. My vision is for success for everyone -businesses, citizens and tourists. A vision for the whole community. Why would you limit the possibilities for any business, district or the whole town? This plan kills my business vision and the visions of many other entrepreneurs.
Who wants this? And why? Who is it that really wants this?
And now I need to ask - What is your time line? Should I buy inventory for next summer? With this plan I will not be able to sell anything new and will have to focus on a closing out sale.
I am not insinuating that any of you do not take your responsibilities seriously, but I implore you to think of all the consequences of this plan, not just to me and my business but the all the businesses downtown and for all the citizens of Ucluelet and all the visitors as well. How important are our historical buildings? I hear from my customers all the time how much they love the authentic feel of this coastal community. People have to drive to reach the west coast but you want to stop them on the threshold of the really interesting part of town and make it inaccessible. Why? What is the vision? Surely not another gentrified town that looks like all the rest. We are unique. It is our secret weapon. It is our super power.
The Crow’s Nest is a tourist attraction in its own rite. I have been told this over and over again. We come to Ucluelet to shop at the Crow’s Nest. The first thing we do when we get to Ucluelet is come to the Crow’s Nest. I have people who drive from Port Alberni and Nanaimo to do their Christmas shopping. I have tourists in the summer who tell me they do all their holiday shopping while they are in town. This is not just about my store. People ask us questions all the time and we refer them to other businesses not just downtown but all over town. We are a unique and beautiful community, not just downtown but the whole town. We are all in this together.
Please, please think about, not just my business but all the enterprises downtown and all other businesses all over town. Please don’t doom us to a painful death. This plan does not support businesses or even the citizens of Ucluelet. What is a downtown?
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart, and is often synonymous with its central business district.
Our downtown is historically and culturally important. It is our heart and our identity. Let’s keep it vibrant and functioning for everyone. Please stop the removal of all these parking places and allow the businesses to function and even thrive. Please.
I want to ask again. Whose idea is this? Where did this come from? Who is behind it? Who really wants it? What for? We need a larger village green because..? What is it ever used for?
Once a year we have Canada Day celebrations – before Covid. The Sunday Market in the summer. Are you aware of how windy and chilly it is? It is often not all that appropriate.
Why are you prepared to sacrifice the historic and cultural heart of our town for more Village Green that barely gets used? Who’s idea is this? Where did it come from? Who was consulted? I wasn’t and I am a fairly large stakeholder downtown? What is the premise of this concept? I challenge the whole idea as anti business, anti cultural, anti historical, and completely disrespectful to the stakeholders who have invested their heart and soul into this town.
Is this how the District wishes to interact with it’d citizenry and it’s businesses? I hope not.
Save our Downtown Parking. Save The Crow’s Nest. Save our Historic District. Save our cultural heritage. Save the heart of Ucluelet.
There are quite a few slogans that can come out of this. I will not let my business of 43 years go down without a fight.
No one thought to talk to me about this, ay? Too bad. Now we find ourselves here.
I am a numbers person. I analyze everything. I know what happens everyday in my business and how it affects sales. I analyze all my inventory. I am intimately involved in studying every aspect of my business. I believe and I know that the Crow’s Nest will not survive this drawing. Please hear me. If this goes ahead the Crow’s Nest will have to start closing down. If you plan on doing this before next summer I will have to start now.
I really never imagined that my 43 years in business would end this way. Being able to pull up in front of a store and run in for what you want is a convenience and a life style we enjoy in Ucluelet. It is one of the things that makes small town living easy and pleasant. Why do you want to take that away?
I did not invest in commercial property and the historic building downtown to have it rendered worthless.
Oh, and is it true that there is a phase 2 that eliminates all parking downtown? More hidden agendas? I would imagine that all the downtown businesses would like to know that. And when is the public going to have their chance to stick their sticky notes?
So I ask you again. Are you so far down this path that you can’t change? Are you trying to accomplish this before next summer? I need to know. I need to know if I am starting the closing out sale tomorrow. It will take a while to move all that inventory. And I will have to cancel orders for next summer that have already been placed. I’d like an answer to that question. Were you hoping to tear up the parking before next summer?
