City plan goes public
New ideas sought on waterfront development

Terry Kruger
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 08/00) - More than just paint-by-numbers planning, the city's effort to put waterfront development in perspective needs the public's help to fill in the blanks.

Since 1998, city staff have worked on and off on a report that will go to the public March 20-21, with the hope of developing new ideas and to help prioritize when and what work will be done.

The goal, says city planning and lands division manager Monte Christensen, is to come up with an action plan that can see concrete results as early as this year.

"What I want this plan to accomplish is something specific," explained Christensen. "If it's a new boat launch, I want to get started this year."

Already, $75,000 has been set aside in this year's municipal budget.

But the city's plans call for more than just a boat launch, however. The 36-page report envisions a series of objectives to develop 23 kilometres of waterfront property within city boundaries.

"With the waterfront development scheme, we're trying to rationalize what's going on down there," explained Mayor Dave Lovell.

"We need a long-term plan about how we're going to develop the waterfront."

The plan draws together bits and pieces from nine previous studies and planning policies -- from the Yellowknife Waterfront Development study of 1986 to the city's urban design guidelines, School Draw marina park study and Future Focus, the City of Yellowknife Strategic Plan.

"What this study does is bring all of the policies from past documents together and molds them into an action plan," explained Christensen.

The goal is threefold, he said, to address issues of accessibility, preservation and water/land use development, and occupancy policies.

An access plan would "improve and enhance" use of the waterfront through rails, boat launches and docks, parking, marinas, float plane bases and waterfront parks.

The city also wants to identify areas of the waterfront that should be preserved, and develop guidelines for shoreline development to "ensure that the effects of such development are mitigated."

What could be the most controversial goal is to establish control over water/land use, development and occupancy policies within city boundaries. The city has already locked horns with houseboaters and old town property owners over the issue of who controls the waterfront and water surface. The report says that can be done by "implementing effective land administration policies and procedures, water/land use zoning bylaws, and agreements with present lease holders or owners and the senior levels of government."

This issue is "complicated by the unauthorized private or commercial use ... on both land and water.

"The question of who really controls the use of the water surface and the lake bed along the waterfront must be resolved," says the report. According to Lovell, the need to address these issues comes at a turning point for the city.

"The town's shaking out and changing as it grows," said the mayor. Add in the city's acquisition of the Giant mine property and whole new avenues of development are opening.

The plan also recognizes the role Great Slave Lake has played in the city's development and can continue to play into the future.

"The challenge of guiding policy and the change of uses along the shoreline lies in the need to ensure orderly change while preserving and enhancing the waterfront character not only for the developed area of Old Town, but also for the entire shoreline within the city's boundaries," reads the report. Christensen noted that the report is only a draft at this stage and that no decisions have been made.

"This stuff hasn't been viewed by council, hasn't been adopted by council," he said. "These are suggestions only."

The waterfront report can be viewed on the city's Web site, and copies can be picked up at City Hall.

Timeline

March 20-21 -- City planners will present the draft waterfront management plan to the public.

April 4-5 -- Planning workshops for "interested and concerned individuals" can bring forward suggestions for policies and specific proposals.

April-May -- City staff will redraft the waterfront plan to include public input. The plan will then be presented to the Corporate Services Committee for council's review. Meetings will be open to the public. Council's formal approval of the report is expected to take place in May or June.

May-September -- Projects identified to take place in 2000 will be initiated.

August-December -- The city will evaluate waterfront progress for the year 2000. Also during this period, budget will be prepared for implementing specific proposals for the year 2001.