According to Marion Moore, back in 1935, when the Union Steam Ship Company gave the land that is now Bowen Court for Bowen Island’s second school, and subdivided the land along Miller Road for housing, the company placed a covenant on the land to prevent new businesses from being built in the area. The idea, says Moore, whose father was on the school board at the time, was to stop any competition for the Old General Store (today, the Bowen Island Library) before it started.
Moore brought the point forward during last week’s meeting on the rezoning of Bowen Island’s community lands, specifically, the portion of currently wooded land between Senior’s Lane (behind the Bowen Island Museum and Archives) and the Bowen Island Community School playing field.
Municipal planning consultant Judy McLeod said that no such covenant came up in her search of provincial property records. However, it seems the intent of such an agreement, whether it ever existed or not, is one Bowen Islanders continue to feel strongly about.
At the meeting, André Chollat asked why, when we see existing businesses in the Cove struggling to survive, would we want to add more commercial space into the mix.
Edna Thompson added that rezoning to accommodate commercial intent is “contrary to the previous expectations of the entire Bowen Island community,” and that an comprehensive assessment of commercial needs be conducted and an economic plan be created before any new commercial zoning is allowed.
Jean Jaimeson wrote in to The Undercurrent, to add her voice to the mix stating that, “the commercial uses permitted under this zoning would allow much undesirable competition for our established businesses.”
When asked, owners of established local businesses expressed hesitance regarding the creation of a third retail shopping area on Bowen.
Amrita Sondhi, owner of Movement clothing at Artisan Square, says the idea of creating a third shopping area on Bowen does not strike her as a good idea.
“It is a little bit scary,” says Sondhi. “Right now there are two really good shopping areas on Bowen, and if there were three, that might dissipate things so that none of them would succeed.”
Piers Hayes, owner of the Snug Cafe, says more retail is fine, but he would resist a situation that would bring one more coffee shop to the Cove.“Some people think that selling coffee is a license to print money, but it’s not. It is hard, hard work, and a way of life more than anything. What the Cove needs is more residential land, more people, not another coffee shop.”
Shahzad Mirsaeidi, co-owner of Cates Pharmacy, says she is not particularly concerned about competition, but is curious about potential opportunities that might open up in a new building.
“We are very happy where we are right now in Village Square,” says Mirsaeidi. “There is a lot of traffic through here, it is a good location, but we pay very high rent. If there were new retail space made available and we might be able to own our own place, that is something we would be
interested in.”
How Lot 2 would actually be developed if the proposed rezoning is passed, is yet to be determined.
“By zoning here to include commercial retail space, we are really just creating options,” says McLeod. “It gives a potential developer or purchaser of the property options with which to come up with a plan for the area, and once they come up with that plan it would go to council and the public would have a say in whether the plan seemed suitable or not for the community.”
McLeod says that while the proposed zoning for two parts of Lot 2 (one which would house the Community Campus, and the other which could accommodate a medical centre and apartments) includes commercial designation, that designation is secondary in both cases.
“A commercial establishment would have to be secondary, and would have to service the other spaces in the building. So in a community centre, there might be a place to purchase a drink, for example.”
Colleen O’Neil, with the Caring Circle, says the idea of having retail space attached to a medical centre facility is a well-researched concept.
“In our early conversations about a medical centre, we looked at various other models around the province. On Gabriola for instance, they have their medical clinic on the main floor and allied medical services on the ground floor, paying rent to help support the operations of the medical centre,” says O’Neil. “If we had private health and wellness practitioners on the ground floor, that would require commercial zoning. The upside is that we could have many of our health and wellness practitioners working in close proximity, enabling easy consultation with each other, and easy for clients to access the care they need in one community owned space. Imagine seeing your doctor then have your physiotherapy appointment or your podiatrist right there. Then you could head across the street to fill your prescriptions, and off to the Village Baker for a cake and coffee!”
Of course, at this stage, such a scenario is purely theoretical. Don Youngson was on one of the committees that brainstormed the idea of a “community campus,” he is also a former building project manager and president of the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce.
“Any proposal will have to be a win-win for the people and the businesses on Bowen otherwise it will be dismissed in no-time,” says Youngson. “Our economy is too fragile to be jeopardized by a poorly planned concept, and that’s something that any successful development will be cognizant of.”
