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Villages are build by policy and design

The visioning and the public process for revitalizing Snug Cove are already done, according to James Tuer of JWT Architecture.

The visioning and the public process for revitalizing Snug Cove are already done, according to James Tuer of JWT Architecture. And the next steps do not require a lot of public funding they call for staff time to work on policy changes and incentives for landowners and cooperation with Metro Vancouver. Tuer invited his landscape architecture students from UBC to come up with design ideas for the cove. The results will be presented on Bowen Island in an open house on Friday, March 23.

When Tuer started working on the Snug Cove Village Design and Transportation concepts with the director of planning of the Bowen Island Municipality, he was charged with looking at the ferry marshalling and reviewing all the plans that had been done before. "We started with early reports on transportation," Tuer said. "The studies had been done by transportation and engineering firms with no experience in village planning."

Tuer asked for clarification on opportunities and constraints from council. "It was confirmed that there were constraints within Crippen Park that previous plans had failed to take into account, the most notable is the heron rookery that is protected by provincial legislation." Tuer ended up with 10 schemes that were narrowed down to eight and then to two. "The process included open and transparent public meetings and open committee of the whole meetings," Tuer said. He made a series of recommendations to council and council instructed staff to work on policy as well as a cost benefit analysis for key elements of the plans. "It is important to understand that that the public process has been done, that the visioning has been done," Tuer said. "The recommendation to council and direction to staff were based on community visioning. The clear message that the community gave during the design process was that the most important issues in Snug Cove are revitalizing the businesses, beautifying the cove and making it safer and friendlier for pedestrians." Tuer also worked closely with BC Ferries and was told that the corporation expects growth in foot traffic rather than vehicle traffic for Bowen Island.

Tuer came out of meetings with Metro Vancouver with the understanding that Metro Vancouver had the strong desire to keep the process going and recommended forming a steering committee for looking at opportunities for development of north side buildings to create a more compact village centre.

"All the planning and heavy lifting that require public funds are behind us," Tuer said. "What is required now is staff's time for writing policy that enables local businesses to expand. And we need to discuss a partnership with Metro Vancouver Parks. We also need some passion and vision on part of our elected leaders to champion Snug Cove."

But there are issues to be resolved. "One of them is the capacity of the sewage treatment plant," Tuer said. He sees the development of the community lands as potential competition with the infill sites in the lower cove. "The reality is that we have an absorption of only 10 to 20 units per year in the best case scenario," he said. "As planner, I think we need a strategic plan for Snug Cove that includes prioritizing where we want to see development."

As one of the incentives for revitalizing the lower cove, Tuer suggests to waive parking requirements. "They present huge constraints," he said. "And they can be addressed by building a satellite parking lot either along Miller Road or behind the library." But he added that the lack of parking is a misconception. "The study concluded that there are 275 parking stalls in the cove and we have never seen them at full capacity. During traffic counts, the capacity remained at 50 per cent," Tuer said.

Another incentive would be to allow landowners to build more than one building on the lot, Tuer suggests, "Existing businesses could stay in place while extension would happen. This could create an interface between the private lands along Trunk Road and the cottages behind it. It's the first step towards infill buildings." Tuer sees this scenario as a huge benefit to the heritage cottages that are currently hidden behind backyard fences, garbage cans and propane tanks. "They are out of sight and have been attracting vandalism and graffiti," Tuer said. "Turning the village inside out and having laneway houses that face Crippen Park would move the cottages out of the backyard under the protective eyes of the community." And Tuer thinks changes in policy and incentives for the landowners can get the ball rolling. "That's how villages are build, by policy and by design," he said.

Tuer says that there is a real interest in making it happen. He said, "Business owners are keen to see this revitalization. Some are taking matters into their own hands to create first steps towards village enhancement. It also is a matter of implementing the vision that has taken years to formulate. It has taken countless hours of volunteer time, thousands of dollars of consultants' fees and a lot of input from the public."

As an adjunct faculty of UBC, Tuer has invited his second year graduate landscape architecture students to take a look at the lower cove. "They have created landscape vision plans," he said. "It's amazing what 17 young minds can dream up. They have very exciting ideas that would dovetail perfectly with any work the municipality might want to move forward with." As a design exercise, Tuer charged his students to look at three areas.The students will present their work in an open house on Friday, March 23, at Cates Hill and everyone is welcome to attend.