Quote:
Originally Posted by vid
Someone literally complained to the city that "downtown is too steep, and people in wheelchairs will roll into the lake, therefore the multiplex should be build on the edge of town".
They say it will be "another waterfront disaster", because the current one was just terrible what with all the luxury condo developments and short supply of commercial space all of a sudden.
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I can't speak for Thunder Bay's demographics, but these controversies seem to be more commonplace in cities like Kingston and London that have generally older populations than the Canadian average. And in those cities it's
always the 60+ crowd that go to the media and complain about new development. I'll never forget the 80-year-old who got escorted out of a meeting in London after he made a scene in front of TV cameras over his fierce opposition to a
fire station locating in the west end of the city.
Kingston, fortunately, seems to take a much less consultative discussion with local residents when approving zoning changes and new developments - more of a "here's our plan and you will like it". It took only 4-5 months for the proposed mixed-use development on Princess Street to go from initial proposal to shovels in the ground, and I'm sure it would've been faster had they not had to wait for winter to pass. Those kinds of proposals can take years to get approved in London, because their city council tries to please everyone - it took over three years and an OMB hearing just to get a friggin' Tim Hortons built in one instance.