By Pepper Parr
October 2, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
For the record, said ward two Councillor Marianne Meed Ward 22 businesses have joined the downtown business family between January and September 2014. Some of these “new businesses” are lateral in that they are replacing an “exiting business” with the same address.
Ward two city council candidate accused of spreading “shameful half truths”.
Meed Ward maintains candidate Kelly Arnott had this information “but chose only to share the closures, not the new businesses – a half truth to deliberately mislead. This is unethical, untruthful, and shameful behavior, unfit for someone running for public office.”
“It’s shockingly brazen to stand up in a room full of residents looking for honest information and to knowingly give them a half truth, and at the same time disparage a part of the ward, the downtown, that she is running to represent! Shameful.
Listed are the names and the month they opened in the core.
January 2014
Heavenly Gourmet
Test Kitchen
Pearl & Pine Retirement
Sante Day Spa & Boutique
March, 2014
Lingerie D’amour
Private Matters Psychotherapy
May 2014
Son of a Peach Pizzeria
Tim L. Consulting Ltd.
June 2014
Cold Turkey Vapor Bar
Dynasties Churrasqueira
Beauty Destination Spa n Esthetics
Nail Candy
Tammy M. Alpe Professional Corporation
Kinetic Yoga & Pilates
Dr. Paulette Laidlaw
Britannia Dental Centre
August 2014
Waters Edge Salon and Spa
Dr. Paulette Laidlaw, Psychologist
September 2014
Blyth Academy Burlington
The Corned Beef Hut
Irina’s Shoe Paradise
Brant Street Butcher & Market
Rawlicious
You can add another one to that; the Gazette expects to open an office in the Downtown core in the near future
I find amazing that successive councils over the last 30 years have missed such a simple solution to what you are calling a problem. As for bringing people downtown, the runners come in , run their race and go home. They don’t go shopping for clothes or furniture after the race, just ask the retailers . Is there an uptick in sales in the days after a race? I will let the locale shop owners weigh in on that one. Elected officials need to be transparent, you have been asked many times what percentage of the money you make from these “charity” races goes to charity, I have yet to read a reply.
Tony, thanks for the questions.
What I know is that our downtown needs more people living, working, and
visiting here, and yet not enough is being done to accomplish this. The
province has told us we MUST intensify our downtown area (identified as
an Urban Growth Centre). This is part of a larger plan to prevent
development sprawl into our greenfields. It is a shame that we’ve lost
so much precious farmland and green space to build more and more
car-dependent subdivisions. Yes, our Official Plan lays out how we will
manage this intensification, but just because it’s in the plan doesn’t
mean it will happen. Land needs to become available for sale and some
plans may not happen for decades. Despite fears about
over-intensification happening in our downtown, the fact is, nothing much has happened at all. The city’s growth plans say we need 2200 new
residential units by 2031, but between 2008 and 2012 only 186 were
built. Here’s some interesting data from the City on this:
https://cms.burlington.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=21006
There are a few projects in the works that will add new units, but some
of these won’t be finished for years. So yes, there will be a slow
increase in density over the next 5 years, but nothing that the City
hasn’t already planned for. We can also reach our intensification through jobs, which I enthusiastically support. Jobs will be an important part of this equation and will benefit the entire community, but nothing much has been done in recent years to help bring these jobs to downtown.
Bringing more people to our downtown need not mean building a series of
28-storey high rises, and that’s not what I’m advocating at all, but it
does mean our council needs to take a pro-active approach to bringing
more investment, more tourism, and good, compatible development–both
commercial and residential to our downtown. I have spent the last 30
years running businesses, solving problems, and bringing business and
visitors to Burlington. I have the background and the expertise to get
our downtown back on track. A healthy, thriving downtown is good for ALL
Burlington residents.
My vote…. Ms. Meed Ward. She does deserve a second term. She listens. Its not all about her (unlike other candidates). Ms Meed Ward is about the people!!!
Tony, Tom and others,
First, thanks for engaging in the debate on this very important issue.
Dozens of downtown businesses closing in such a short period is a major concern. Attempting to downplay this disturbing fact does not serve Ward
2 residents and businesses well. Furthermore, there is the human side behind business failings that I have experienced first-hand. Owners of these business have lost not only their jobs and investments (in some cases their life savings) but also a big part of their personal identity. The human aspects, both financial and emotional, of business failures can be devastating to real people and their families. We can’t lose sight of that.
Small business success is a result of fewer bad times, fewer days of zero to little sales, fewer ‘dead days’ as we in the retail world call them. Yes there are vibrant days downtown throughout the year–several of them, BUT not enough of them to overcome the amount of dead days. So yes, in a perfect retail world there are 365 great days in a year; however, for a small retail store, restaurant, cafe etc., to thrive and survive it is all about reducing dead days.
So what is the solution? Simple, more people. More consumer traffic during all parts of the day and during all months of the year. We need more people living in, working in, and visiting Downtown Burlington. It is that simple. So we need policies and actions from City Hall that support the realization of that simple solution.
More residences are required for more residents.
More non-retail businesses, especially large institutions like a University Campus, are required for more daytime workers.
More hotels and destinations such as the Performing Arts Centre are required for more year round visitors.
No magic wand required, just a council and more specifically, a Ward 2 councillor, who understands there is a problem, that more people are the solution and that any policies which are ANTI more people living, working and visiting downtown will lead to the continuing trend of more and more businesses failing.
I understand how to bring more people to our downtown, I’ve been doing it in one form or another for 30+ years.
Kelly, for further clarification would you permit me a few questions?
-What is the change in population density in downtown Burlington in the last 5 years?
-What will be the change in density over the next 5 years considering construction projects that are already in progress or on the table?
-What should the optimum density be to satiate the needs of the retailers?
-Should the population density be right-sized to fit the needs of the retailers, or vice-versa?
-Central High School is a sizable institution for the downtown area. How significant is it to the health of the downtown?
-The highest and best use potential of downtown property is on the rise. How does this affect retailers and other business owners who are tenants?
-What are some of the other forces occuring outside of the downtown that are having an adverse effect on its’ health?
-Could you describe some of what you call “ANTI more people living, working and visiting policies” that we have? How would you change them? Would it affect zoning or the official plan?
-Aside from your concern for a downtown that is perhaps under-performing, what are some of your other motivations for running for council?
I certainly don’t have the answers, but I live, parent and operate a business in Ward 2, like many others, so I’d be interested to get your input.
More people living and working downtown is not a fast fix. The downtown is already designated as a growth and intensification centre and has been for years. I don’t know what the population increase over the last 10 years has been, but I have seen a number of new high-rises built, higher density new builds on lots with tear-downs and conversions from commercial to mostly residential with small mixed uses. More buildings are in planning and I assume the idea phase.
The city does not build, they have to have a developer/builder come forward. In my opinion, they have been accommodating to more density, and I’m sure planning can provide info on that.
Business owners know or should know that success is far from a sure thing, and no city policy can fix problems. It’s called risk. The restaurant business is particularly difficult and peoples tastes are fickle. There are too many restaurants anyways and some are a bad idea that won’t likely succeed. Too many clothing and shoe stores.
You can’t blame Meed Ward for this perennial problem of business failure, and design of a perfect mix so no one fails.
Meed Ward represents her residents which is her job and she does it well.
Kelly, you need to do more homework.
This contradiction of which candidate is informing voters of the number of businesses left/moved in is interesting. I did not vote for Meed Ward in 2010. Her first six months to a year had her in the headlines with taking positions contrary to the majority on council. The last year or so, I have had the opportunity to observe her behaviour. I do not agree with all of her positions BUT I have found her to be an excellent ward 2 councillor. She finds out answers to questions that her constituents ask. She listens well and asks probing questions to delegates to council.
There were several ward 2 candidates who presented some interesting ideas during the ward all candidate meeting. Unfortunately, I did not recall one young male candidate. He had good views that showed a fresh perspective. Meed Ward presented herself very well. Five subsidized units does read as inadequate but then this new condo is not set up for this. You do seem to need money to live in Burlington but not as much as you would in Toronto or Oakville as far as housing is concerned.
Bottom line for me is that Ward Meed deserves a second term.
Downtowns, in fact most places, change over time. I have seen many changes to downtown Burlington over the years. We have friends that often come up from St. Catharine’s for a weekend and they are very impressed with our downtown. They will comment how clean it is and how much nicer the people seem.
Tony, you are right on!! Too many candidates seem to be able to spew the answers, but are certainly mum when it comes to providing the details on the solutions!
Thinking that one can enter the Council Chambers and, Viola! wave a magic wand to fix a problem…. well they need a reality check!! Heck, these “know all, can fix all” types should have been provided with Sainthood long ago, or at least a Super Hero cape!!
Lets hear how you can “fix” the downtown Ms. Arnott. And, perhaps you can ‘run’ out and ask residents if in fact “does the downtown need fixing???” Downtowns change constantly, much of it due to the fact that Malls are the place to be. Malls bring convenience. Compared to many neighbouring municipalities, Burlington’s downtown is vibrant with a good mix of shops and restaurants.
The public in general are fickle. I’m curious to know how many even notice when a business has left. For the most part we notice the shiny new things in the window when a new business opens.
Ms. Arnott, quite frankly you frustrate me. Big shiny election signs…. you must have learned from the ever- changing businesses downtown!! But, for what I’ve seen you don’t bring much more to the table. One can only hope the voters do their homework, because you haven’t.
It’s certainly not my intention to be critical of Kelly, or any other candidate willing to challenge an incumbent. After all, none of them voted to sell off City owned waterfront property as per our existing Council (Meed Ward being the lone dissenter).
Contenders had better stop talking in generalities and lay all of their cards on the table. What do you want to do? How do you propose to do it? People will always vote for the devil they know over the devil they don’t.
I thought Kelly’s comment above was a reasonable rebuttal but needed to finish with “something needs to be done – and this is what I have in mind…”. At least she didn’t commit political hare kare here in the Gazette’s comment section like some other candidates have previously done.
We have lived in Burlington’s Ward 2 for 24+ years, and prior to that, throughout Canada in cities large and small. Marianne Meed-Ward is the best elected representative we have ever had, and I encourage all Ward 2 residents to show their appreciation by voting for Marianne this month, whether on-line or traditionally. We have been well-served these past four years!
Kelly, you state “something needs to be done about this!”. Perhaps you are right, or perhaps the downtown is in a constant state of flux and ever changing equilibrium – I don’t know. Could you expand on your position and give some suggestions of what needs to be done? More density? more parking? zoning changes? deviations from the OP? tax concessions for merchants? Could you give some concrete examples and suggestions of what you would do?
OK, I’ll sign up to this list of questions. I don’t know what’s right either, but I’ll listen to the concrete. Maybe I was too pessimistic about what can be done in fast order. But you have to show at least some business plan. And taxpayer subsidies, except parking, are not first in line.
Perhaps many of these store closures are related to the business roads in to, out of and inside downtown being shut down to customers during so many of Ms.Arnott’s ‘charity’ joggers marathons? With all the road closures related to Ms. Arnott’s business, what percentage of the money earned goes to charity?
With all due respect to Ms Meed Ward,
I don’t share in her view that bringing to light the fact that we have seen 20 plus downtown Burlington Businesses closures in 2014 alone is unethical, untruthful or shameful. Actually I strongly believe it is the right thing to do-to be truthful, similar to what Ms. Meed Ward has done and continues to do with Waterfront related issues.
The fact is downtown merchants both established and new are struggling and many are closing as a result. Even one of the new businesses Ms. Meed Ward provided in the list above; Heavenly Gourmet: has already closed its doors and several on the September list haven’t even opened yet.
Councillor Meed Ward is right in her view that Burlington residents deserves honest information and the fact is downtown Businesses are struggling to survive and closing at alarming rates.
Something need to be done about this! It would be shameful to do nothing or worst pretend it isn’t happening!
Sock it to her, Councillor!!
Downtown has always been in flux, and always will, given the nature of the businesses, and the fickleness of the customers.
Anyone who says they have the answers is a fibber.
I wonder why Dr. Paulette Laidlaw opened 2 businesses in 2 months? Are the businesses listed for September actually open? I guess we can all look at the positives such as 5 affordable housing units in a major development! Maybe someday the truth will be told but i somehow doubt it.