Civic politics junkies, ready set go.

Stories here from Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, and the Torontoist.

Oh, and here’s the decision for anyone wanting to scan to see if they or their council is in any danger of getting close to the line.

It’s going to take more than a few months to work out the issues related to turning Robson Street in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery into a public square.

That seems to be the conclusion from the city’s transportation engineer, Jerry Dobrovolny, at the end of three months of consultation about the future of the space, which included having the street closed past the normal summer activities there.

The city’s report, which came out late Friday, is here, and my quickie Globe webfile is here.

Sadly, I heard Aaron Jasper of the Vancouver park board on the radio this morning saying the sign has been changed and the board doesn’t have the power to rename the park. But let’s keep fighting, folks. Maybe we can’t stop climate change or end poverty in Africa. But here’s something we can accomplish.

There’s a petition going to rename the park. To the barricades!

As posted everywhere yesterday, the City of Vancouver announced it has made a deal with social-media darling Hootsuite, which was expanding rapidly and desperately needed space, to sell it one of the city’s former police buildings on the yearly-payment plan.

It’s a strong sign from the city about how much it will do to support local businesses, in order to get them to stay as they grow. When I spoke to him, Mayor Robertson acknowledged that’s not possible with every business. The city lost the Stanley Park Brewery to Surrey as it expanded, because no one could find a space for the bigger operation. It also lost Happy Planet, the company the mayor helped found, to Burnaby a few years ago, he noted. But he sounded pretty determined to do anything the city could to keep businesses when possible.

My story in the Globe adds a bit more context to all this. (As any story should, mutter journalism instructors everywhere.)

According to the commercial broker  I talked to for this story, Hootsuite should be paying somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1 million a year (33,000 square feet times about $30 per square foot per year) for this. What they are actually paying, we don’t know yet except for the city’s assurances that the company will pay “market rent.”

I did check with a very knowledgeable senior planner about whether there was any issue with Hootsuite moving into an industrial-zoned area. I was told that if there was a non-conforming use before (which the police station was), that is often allowed to continue unless there’s a big gap between when one tenant moves out and the next moves in.

But the broker said the whole issue of what used is allowed in industrial zones has been a crazy one for tech companies. Sometimes a city clerk will not allowed an existing use to be continued on with a new tenant. Sometimes, s/he will. Sometimes it ends up in the mayor’s office. Hootsuite was being allowed to operate in its Railtown located, which is actually an M2 industrial zoning, because it is classified as a software manufacturer. But some other tech companies won’t be allowed to move in there, because they don’t have the same classification.

I’ve temporarily removed my last blog post, which consisted almost entirely of a news release from NPA Councillor George Affleck, questioning a city contract given to Alterrus Systems.

Chair Stephen Fane and CEO Chris Ng just called me saying it has serious inaccuracies and citing some of them. In the interests of not repeating potentially bad information, I won’t say for the moment what they were. However, anyone who wants is free to look at said news release on the www.npavancouver.ca website.

I do find it odd they called me, rather than Affleck. They claimed that I am easier to get hold of than the city councillor. I’ve asked George what he has to say and am waiting for an answer.

If this were my own story and own reporting, I’d be quite comfortable leaving it up. As it’s someone else’s research and statement, I’m pulling it for the moment until I can check into the facts. I can’t get around to that immediately, as I’m working all night on another project.

I understand my story in the Globe has produced quite a kerfuffle. I await more news.

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For those who missed Chaper 1 of this saga, it’s here.

Now, Chapter 2, the response from Vancity. The interesting paragraph, for those who are time-pressed, is #1, which refers to problems with “management and leadership skills, and including concerns expressed by certain key personnel who resigned or threatened to resign in that regard.”

Please keep your comments on this side of the law.

BERGEVSVANCITY.DEFENCE

My story from last week. Sorry, forgot to post earlier, but comment away, if you can tear yourselves from the TransLink service optimization post (Yikes, 263 comments and counting.)

Article posted in full on next page

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This just out

New South of Fraser service and other changes coming in December

December will bring the beginning of a new alternative for commuters in Langley and eastern Surrey. The new #555 Port Mann Express will begin service on Saturday, December 1. The bus will travel over the new Port Mann Bridge between the Carvolth Transit Exchange and Park and Ride on 202nd Street in Langley and Braid SkyTrain Station in New Westminster.

The #555 will operate seven days a week, with buses running every 10 minutes in each direction during peak periods – Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. – and every half hour the rest of the time, with the last bus leaving each terminus at 11 p.m. This route is expected to generate 3,000 to 4,000 boardings per day.

Over on the left of the screen.