How do YOU think our town should develop?
Posted by editor on May 31, 2010 · 5 Comments
By David F. Rooney
The City is embarking on an ambitious program that, ultimately, will decide how people-friendly future development will be.
Should we embrace the kind of highway and car-driven development that mars the outskirts of cities and towns across the country? Or should we strive for development that favours people on foot and on bikes?
The choice sounds like a no-brainer but it’s not. And City Planner John Guenther hopes every thinking Revelstoke resident will attend the charette public workshop scheduled to start Tuesday, June 8, at the Community Centre. It will run from 7 pm until 8:30 pm.
The ideas and views people bring to the charette will be acted upon, rendered into drawings that will be available for a community review on June 10 at the Community Centre from 7 until 8:30 pm. The final charette closing presentation and public comment will be on June 11 at the Community Centre from 3:30 until 5 pm. There will also be a series of special meetings for developers, government employees and others
A charrette is any collaborative session in which a group drafts a solution to a design problem. In this case it will revolve about the proposed Unified Development Bylaw. The UDB will, if it passes, provide the City with a framework and guidelines for more environmentally-friendly and socially progressive development.
You can read previous stories about the pre-charette that was held here in late winter here:
- Are you dreaming of a greener Revelstoke? Part 1 at http://www.revelstokecurrent.com/2010/02/02/are-you-dreaming-of-a-greener-revelstoke-part-1; and
- Are you dreaming of a greener Revelstoke? Part 2 at http://www.revelstokecurrent.com/2010/02/02/are-you-dreaming-of-a-greener-revelstoke-part-2.
In depth stories about next week’s charette will be posted on The Current this week.
The public can engage in the charrette TUESDAY, June 8 from 7:00-8:30pm at the Community Centre. Check out http://revelstokeudb.com for the complete schedule including stakeholder meetings during the day public are also welcome to attend.
My mistake and my apologies. David
I feel quite strongly that bringing in businesses that we travel west to go should be a priority here in Revelstoke. These businesses will bring more jobs and keep Revelstokians in Revelstoke. Clearly the conversation about Cooper’s has shown this in spades. Revelstoke is full of wonderful shops with great things to buy and we as a community continue to support them but how can bringing in more business not be positive? As more people come to Revelstoke from areas in Canada that are used to having shopping experiences, why not give them yet another reason to spend their money here?
Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding of this Charette (fancy name for losing control over your neighbourhood) is that developers will now go to the city if they wish to change zoning in an existing residential neighbourhood and those of us who reside there have no say.
My way of life has been destroyed by the ski hill development. Non stop construction vehicles,cement trucks, heavy traffic all day and night etc, constant noise from a gravel pit. Why in Gods name do we have at least two gravel pits in our city limits. Don’t tell me it is private property as I can not do what I want on my private property. Now they want retail too?
We all work, live, play in and use the downtown services so shopping on our way home is what we do. Do we want our downtown to look like a ghost town like all the other communities in BC that have put retail in their residential areas.
I believe strongly that the city should have control over how our businesses should look to keep our city beautiful and the size of housing in residential areas as we have some big unsightly homes going up but don’t take our rights ways to say what moves in next door to us in our residential areas of Revelstoke. I chose not live downtown so I do not want it moving next door to me.
Am I missing something?
I’m in town this week as part of the consulting team helping with the charrette to create Revelstoke’s new Unified Development Bylaw. It’s a rewarding process for all of us. We’re taking the next steps towards community goals set in Revelstoke’s Official Community Plan. Everybody’s invited.
By the final presentation on Friday affternoon, we’ll have a pretty good idea of how future growth can be channeled in ways that not only support Revelstoke’s appeal to residents and visitors, but also plug into the community’s long-range goals for sustainability and opportunity.