City Hall Report - Taking Stock of Victoria

Taking Stock of Victoria is a report by Coriolis Consulting Corp. into the current state of Victoria. It's well worth reading. I'm about a third of the way through it, and it seems to be very well researched.

This table summarizes fairly well a good set of objectives.
Table 1:
Elements in a Comprehensive Strategy for Downtown Revitalizations

Element	Description
1. Strengthen downtown as the main retail and service centre in the region.	Downtowns in general have been losing ground to suburban commercial centres in large part because most regional population growth has been in the suburbs and retailers have located in these growing local trade areas. As a result, downtowns import less total retail trade and have had to become more specialized. In addition, changes in the structure of retailing (more big box stores, fewer major department store chains) have favoured low density, automobile-oriented retailing in suburban locations. This pattern is common in metropolitan regions and most cities have little power to stop it, given that suburban commercial development is often under the control of other municipalities and that it is difficult to force people to shop in ways they do not prefer. Downtowns need to find an appropriate niche in the regional commercial landscape and work aggressively to maintain and increase their market share. Ways to enhance downtownÕs retail prospects include: ensure that downtown provides a unique, high quality shopping experience. manage the retail mix to provide a quality retail inventory, without skewing too much in favour of tourist-oriented retail (especially lowquality, generic products). recruit new tenants to fill vacant space. encourage investment in new/refurbished retail buildings. conduct ongoing effective marketing aimed at residents of the region,including advertising and special events.
2. Ensure that downtown is accessible to residents of the whole region and ensure that parking is adequate, convenient, and reasonably priced.	A strong roster of retailers will only be successful if shoppers can travel to, and within, downtown quickly and comfortably. Good transit is essential, especially as the region grows and traffic increases. However, in medium- sized communities with dispersed development patterns, road access and parking are essential to retail success.
3. Strengthen downtown as a visitor destination.	Some downtowns are fortunate to be significant tourist destinations, providing a second major second source of retail sales in addition to regional residents. For downtowns in this category, an important major component of downtownÕs strategy must be working to enhance this market. Broadly speaking, actions should include: marketing to attract visitors. ensuring high quality, reliable, reasonably priced access for visitors. ongoing refurbishment and additions to key attractions. ongoing improvements to the inventory of accommodation. providing attractive meeting, trade show ,and conference facilities. maintaining tourism infrastructure (tourist information, reservation systems, signage). maintaining the basic quality and integrity of downtown as a place with a distinct, attractive image or brand.
4. Strengthen downtown as the regional focus of government and office space.	Downtown is oftenthe government and business centre of the region. However, some downtowns have been treading water in this regard while suburban business park locations are increasing in prominence. Daytime office employees are a major source of retail/service spending and should be retained whenever possible. Reinforcing downtownÕs prominence requires: commitments from senior governments to maintain their presence in downtown, rather than choosing suburban locations. While there is a need for government to find ways to economize on space and a need to ensure that agencies are accommodated in functional space, there is also a need to consider the overall economic impact of government office location decisions. Economic spin-off tends to be maximized in a high density commercial core, such as downtown. planning policy that discourages the creation of major high density office nodes that are too directly competitive with downtown. While it is sound regional planning policy to encourage the creation of suburban employment concentrations that minimize regional transportation demand, these centres should not rival downtown by encouraging and facilitating investment in new/refurbished office space. ensuring adequate off-street parking to meet the needs of office users, especially in historic areas where buildings do not contain off-street parking.
5. Strengthen downtown as a cultural, educational, and entertainment centre.	Downtown is oftenthe government and business centre of the region. However, some downtowns have been treading water in this regard while suburban business park locations are increasing in prominence. Daytime office employees are a major source of retail/service spending and should be retained whenever possible. Reinforcing downtownÕs prominence requires: commitments from senior governments to maintain their presence indowntown, rather than choosing suburban locations. While there is aneed for government to find ways to economize on space and a need toensure that agencies are accommodated in functional space, there is also a need to consider the overall economic impact of government officelocation decisions. Economic spin-off tends to be maximized in a highdensity commercial core, such as downtown. planning policy that discourages the creation of major high densityoffice nodes that are too directly competitive with downtown. While itis sound regional planning policy to encourage the creation of suburbanemployment concentrations that minimize regional transportationdemand, these centres should not rival downtown by encouraging andfacilitating investment in new/refurbished office space. ensuring adequate off-street parking to meet the needs of office users,especially in historic areas where buildings do not contain off-street parking.
6. Maintain the high quality of the physical environment.	Downtown can only achieve economic improvement if it is physically attractive to visitors, regional residents, and people who live and work in the core. There are many inter-related aspects to the physical environment, involving public agencies and private property owners, including: maintain good quality and attractive streetscapes including sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, street furniture, and signage. keep sidewalks clean (free of dirt, litter, snow). maintain basic civic infrastructure (water, sewer, drainage, roads, utilities). maintain high quality public spaces. maintain the stock of historic buildings. ensure that new development is sited and designed to contribute to the image and character of downtown. maintain/improve the quality of the waterfront, including access, views, activities. maintain an overall sense of authenticity and quality.
7. Keep streets and sidewalks safe, comfortable, and attractive.	This element involves the challenging interface between downtown revitalization and broader social/economic issues such as homelessness, addiction, crime, health, and unemployment. In this arena, there is ample room for philosophical and political arguments about who has what rights to be on the streets, whether panhandling is a nuisance that should be subject to regulation or a basic right, classism, and social engineering. There is even room for debate about how much ÒgritÓ is just enough for downtown, in that a too-sanitized environment makes a downtown seem unauthentic or boring while too much forced interaction with non- mainstream people makes ordinary shoppers and visitors uncomfortable. Our approach to this, in the context of a downtown strategy, is pragmatic. Downtown needs: streets that are clean. streets that are safe (and feel safe) at all hours. a minimum of uncivil or illegal behaviour (such as aggressive or intimidating behaviour, urinating in doorways, property crime, graffiti in inappropriate locations, or blatant drug dealing). These short-term objectives require some immediate actions that some people will regard as avoiding the underlying problems, but this is not an either/or proposition. Of course the community needs long term, lasting solutions to basic social problems, but in the meantime, downtown needs to be a safe and comfortable place to work, live, shop, and visit.
8. Increase the number of people living downtown.	People living downtown add retail spending and increase the level of on- street activity, which helps to dilute or displace undesirable street behaviour. These key ingredients are necessary to fuel a downtown residential market: attractive development sites must be available at acceptable cost. developers must believe there is a target market that wants true downtown living, not only on a few high amenity sites such as waterfront. purchasers must believe that downtown is a safe place to live. City regulatory processes must be supportive of downtown residential development.
9. Guide land use and development at the regional, city, and local scale	. Land use and development in downtown must be guided by an overall plan and regulatory framework that provides: clear guidance for preferred locations for concentrations of retail, office, and residential development within the region and within the City. sufficient infrastructure to accommodate office and residential growth in downtown. development parameters (e.g. height, density) and design guidelines for downtownthat achieve a high quality of development and are consistent with market and financial feasibility. vision for the future use and enhancement of public lands in downtown. a reasonable and efficient system for processing applications for new development.
10. Provide vision and coordinate the efforts of many stakeholders.	The many stakeholders interested in the future of downtown must to some extent share a common view of the future of downtown and find ways to make sure that they work together. The lack of a coordinated effort results in gaps, overlaps, wasted effort, and in extreme cases, conflict. Coordination cannot be forced upon agencies with wide ranging interests and resources. Coordination results from a willingness to share ideas, take suggestions, accept input, and work for the greater good of all downtown stakeholders. Written strategies, organizational charts, and adopted plans can appeal for a coordinated approach, but cannot cause it. The checklist above gives us a method of comparing what ought to be done with what is actually occurring in downtown Victoria, in order to identify any critical gaps or overlaps.