Vision won't become reality if it's not viable.
This rather simple equation seems to be throwing planning efforts in this town for a loop, leading to a whole lot of status quo as well as much griping about the stagnation of South Delta.
The issue has reared its head on several occasions, most recently along the Ladner waterfront where Delta is attempting to revitalize the area through a number of proposed policies to attract private investment, everything from tax breaks to increased building heights.
It all sounds good, and I'd certainly like to see the long-neglected area become more of a drawing card than it is today, but I'm dubious even with the incentives being proposed whether the framework will be in place to make that happen.
I was talking recently with someone who has extensive knowledge of Ladner Harbour and he told me that even if Delta gave him the civic-owned properties on Chisholm Street, he couldn't make a marketplace viable if it was limited to two-and-a-half storeys. He couldn't collect enough in rent to offset the prohibitively expensive construction process, so raising the height limit from two to two-and-a-half storeys appears to be a moot point.
The same concern was raised a couple of years back when efforts were being taken to update the Tsawwassen Area Plan. Town core property owners were brought to the table and asked why a vision for mixed commercial and residential buildings laid out two decades earlier hadn't come to fruition.
Those on the civic side of the equation were given a simple answer: The buildings that were envisioned aren't viable given current height limits. They had to go higher to make redevelopment worthwhile, so naturally that advice was ignored and another area plan was put in place that wouldn't amount to much.
I'm not necessarily blaming those over at municipal hall because the regulations they establish come via marching orders from the public, but if we want things to happen, if we truly desire change, then we're going to have to be realistic about it. There's no doubt developers are always going to push the envelope and spin tales of hardship, but the lack of action over the years, whether at the waterfront or the town centre, suggests there's some validity to what they're saying.
The bottom line is that plans may look good on paper, but unless they're rooted in the financial reality of the day, they're never going to get beyond the drawing board.
