Ever onward
Summerside takes another step in redevelopment of downtown
Summerside city council passed two motions Monday night that will play large parts in the future of the community’s downtown.
These two motions, which were passed during the regular monthly meeting of council, revolved around the Summerside Urban Core Plan, also referred to as the “Ekistics plan”, which was written by Halifaxbased Ekistics Planning & Design. That document outlines a number of recommendations designed to help the city revitalize its downtown over the next several decades.
One motion committed the city to move forward with the Ekistics plan; the other directed city staff to start researching how to implement form-based code in the downtown, which is an important component of the overall Ekistics plan.
Mayor Bill Martin said following the meeting that he was pleased with how council proceeded.
However, Martin also
stressed that the wording of the first motion says the city “adopts the ‘vision’ of the Summerside Urban Core Plan.” That word, “vision” is important, he said, because it indicates that while the city intends to consult the plan, it will not be bound by it. Council can still decide on a case-by-case basis whether to follow the wording of the document or not.
“At the end of the day, none of it is binding on council,” he said. The second motion is more solid in that once staff members come back with their recommendations and they’re adopted by council, form-based code will be the new normal for how the city deals with developers in the downtown core. Form-based code cuts red tape for potential investors by giving them as much information regarding what the community expects of them and their projects as early in the process as possible.
One aspect of that up-front information involves building height maximums and minimums – which had been a sticking point for council and some members of the public as this process has unfolded. The Ekistics plan recommends a three-storey minimum on new developments in the downtown in order to encourage higher density and more valuable development.
Martin said the issue of how high or how low to allow development is one question, among many, that will be answered at a later date when staff brings back recommendations to the planning board for review.
In the meantime, Martin encouraged the public to approach their councillors, himself and city staff to provide feedback and input during this process.