Clutching at the 20 Year Old Idea of a Town Centre

1993 was a different time than now, especially in the North Okanagan.

Consumers Glass was 4 years from its permanent closure.
Bigfoot Industries was 15 years from its permanent closure.

While 1993 was only a few years after the recession, it was still a better time than now in 2013, especially here.  In the early 90's Wal-Mart and K-Mart were discount stores that drew an ever-increasing number of shoppers looking to stretch their dollars.  K-Mart is gone, Zellers is gone, Wal-Mart and Target are here.
Ask the Mom-and-Pop shops in Vernon how the economy (and the American retailers) are affecting them...

Twenty years ago was when the concept of a District of Coldstream "Town Centre" was first proposed.
And today's Coldstream Mayor and Council continue to clutch tightly to that concept, having just rezoned lands surrounding the municipal hall to allow for Mixed Use Town Centre Commercial development.

Likely born -- as so many of these projects are -- at a senior-bureaucrat-presented session at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting, these community plans read almost verbatim, whether it's Fleetwood, or Surrey/Cloverdale, Maple Ridge, etc.

Yet the typical government red tape has threatened to even "scare business away".
That's not necessarily a bad thing.
A dose of reality.
Because Coldstream doesn't need a Town Centre.
Because only 4 km down the highway is the City of Vernon.

Vernon's economy continues to slide in 2013, despite all the smoke-n-mirrors about improved housing starts (mostly retirees or well-heeled new arrivals from the Coast and/or Alberta).  One would lose count of the storefronts in Vernon that offer Commercial facilities "For Lease", "For Rent", "For Sale".

But today, 20 years after the town centre concept was proposed, Coldstream's Mayor and Council have now completed the Zoning for the Town Centre.

Yawn.

"I, for one, can't see the use for a town centre.  How many years has this been going on?  I don't see the need for one," said ... resident Angie Kitcher in a letter to council, as reported by the Morning Star on August 16, 2013.

Attagirl, Angie!

To which Councillor Kiss replied that it's not a new idea for Coldstream.  "It goes back 20 years almost."

So what?

Twenty-year old ideas should be in the recycling can in 2013!

"It's empire building," suggests Kia.


Seems nobody noticed the empire is crumbling.