An Update on Kimberley BC's Latest 'Gas Station Car Wash Drive-Thru' Zoning Change "Controversy" | MOUNTOWN JOURNAL
OK, soooo… I’ve watched the video of the entire Special Public Meeting that was held on November 3rd to discuss the latest 'gas station car wash chainstore drive-thru' proposal to change zoning in Marysville again (which was voted down again, with an enquiry about launching an ethics investigation brought up by one councillor at the end of the meeting) — here's the Youtube link if you would also like to watch:
I’ve read “most” of the very informative City Staff report that was prepared in advance of the Special Public Meeting (ie. the first 20 pages contain the meat of the context) — here's the link if you would like to read "most" of the 170 page report too.
I’ve also peaked at some of the comments over on the local FB Corkboard (so shoutout to all of the mostly civically civil exchanges, even if not everyone agrees on the decision nor the layered context that goes into decisions like this) — which is why I decided to dust of the 95EH Facebook to share my own thoughts (which were also shared to the local FB Corkboard) & why I’m also sharing those thoughts over here on the MOUN.TOWN blahg.
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As someone who was a part of the public 'Marysville McDonalds' discourse the last time someone asked the City of Kimberley to change zoning for their ‘gas station car wash chainstore drive thru’ development plans… I guess my main take away this time around is THANK YOU to everyone who is giving these decisions the kind of grounded and forward thinking they require (the community-minded effort and integrity is noticed & appreciated)!
I am happy to see a push towards more transparency and context being shared with the people who vote and live in this community (because more information is a good thing & often times that involves uncomfortable nuanced conversations needing to be had openly) — and if anyone watched the full video of that public council meeting (or read the 'ethics investigation' Bulletin article that followed), I think it is pretty clear that there are a bunch of interconnected conversations needed to be had now that this latest proposal has been officially rejected by a vote of 4 to 3 (as there was definitely some unsaid context bubbling underneath the surface of this heated council vote that we should all be interested in hearing more about, regardless if one was with the Yays or the Nays this time around).
Personally, I think the part from the city staff report that says:
“The preliminary site plan indicates a combined building footprint of approximately 11% of the site, and hard-surfaced vehicle movement and parking areas are by far the predominant feature of the proposed site improvements”
…is a good example of how this just wasn’t a good proposal for bailing on the OCP’s vision (and there were plenty of implications made by councillors in the video that suggest there is much more the City of Kimberley could be doing for those industrial lands instead of winking at big-pocket developers that we just require a little extra finessing to get around some pesky community plans/zoning & voices/votes before doing what they want to do).
I think it is a good thing for our elected city council to say NO to investments that don’t take into account our community’s OCP (including proposals that ignore past similar decisions that went all the way to public forum hearings with plenty of community feedback that was clearly ignored by the latest proponent) — as it does not mean Kimberley is “closed for business” it instead shows that Kimberley does not just accept any proposal we get offered (for starters, imagine a proposal that had the respect for the community to not just ignore all the issues that were already brought up about specifically developing another gas station car wash, not to mention the chainstore drive-thru parking lot of it all).
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The reason people didn’t care about Dominos coming to Kimberley was because Dominos came to an area in town already zoned for commercial.
People like to throw out the “if you don’t like it don’t go there” argument… but people tend to ignore that there is a major difference between a corporate chain like Dominoes setting up shop in the ‘free market’ by taking over available commercial space OR a developer getting the city to change zoning to their liking so that they can put in a map-altering development that overtly goes against communicated OCP plans (and previous public hearings/feedback).
It’s also worth noting that it wasn’t too long after people stopped boasting about Dominoes being in town that people soon started posting about Dominoes allegedly refusing to hire local people at the advertised rate so that they could instead bring in foreign workers at a cheaper rate (a move that some people would allegedly claim happens at a lot of places that are fond of corporate loop holes in favour of investor profits).
Allegedly.
And despite Cranbrook getting all of this extra ‘gas station car wash chainstore drive-thru’ money that Kimberley is missing out on by not accepting short-sighted proposals like this latest one… it should be noted that Cranbrook residents also struggle with a serious cost of living crisis right now, almost as if all that 'lost Kimberley money' is mostly going somewhere else (related: can we also admit that it is possible to live in a big city and still be about a 20-minute drive from a Tim Hortons or McDs or DQ or etc + Kimberley should want Cranbrook to also be doing good as so many people from Kimberley also go to Cranbrook for their jobs and vice versa + we’re literally so close together that there is a paved bike trail between our communities).
So maybe another ‘gas station car wash chainstore drive-thru’ development is not the kind of community-minded investment that the local area needs after all (especially given the large amount of those exact things already in the area), eh?
Because let's not overlook that one of the main sell jobs for accepting this proposal was the supposed big tax break that residential properties would receive… but the city staff report actually broke down that math and it works out to be an estimated $15-$30 of yearly tax relief for the average Kimberley home owner (and it also stood out to me that one councillor seemed to imply that it was uncalled for to have to hear opinions of disagreement from residents who aren't property owners, as if our community is not full of people who can't afford to own property & as if that is not a connected point to why community members are against proposals such as this latest one that wanted to turn 2 acres of zoned industrial land into another 'gas station car wash chainstore drive-thru' development that would be almost 90% parking lot).
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However, since this latest ‘gas station car wash chainstore drive-thru’ proposal has been officially rejected by the City of Kimberley (ie. there will be no more readings or a public hearing like last time), and since it doesn’t make a tonne of sense to talk in circles about a done decision (also the Special Council Meeting video and City Staff report linked above give everyone more than enough context to form their own opinions) — I will end this TL;DR social media brain dump with a related question / data point that I hope a future City of Kimberley staff report or Special Public Meeting might try to better address:
Q1a: What is considered a “living wage” in Kimberley? (ps - I couldn’t find this info online, so to help start that conversation 'Living Wage BC' has Golden listed at $26.96 for 2024, but they don’t have Kimberley or Cranbrook listed — however one FB commentator mentioned “generally the Columbia Valley is used which is $22.90 for 2024… I expect 2025 to be as high as $23.50 based on inflation”).
Q1b: (the uncomfortable follow-up question) - How many people who live in Kimberley are currently being asked to work for LESS than what is considered a “living wage” (and what are all the factors that contribute to determining what a "living wage" should be in our community — because it's not just what people are paid, it's also what food & housing cost and it is rental prices & wage gaps & where the profits go and… a whole bunch of inconvenient factors & consequences that don't just go away if everyone agrees to never talk about it openly while continuing to chase after somebody else's infinite growth fantasies)
Of course, there are many other questions that would also be good to hear more answers for, so I hope more community members can find more ways for us to all get better at talking honestly about this stuff as a community that cares about ALL the people who live and work in our communities… so feel free to hop in the comments and leave some of your own thoughts/questions now that this latest 'gas station car wash chainstore drive-thru' zoning change development has been rejected (as the importance of having these layered conversations ain’t going anywhere).
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JEREMY / @HI54LOFI
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