Re: “Sidney council a sharp contrast to Langford,” letter, Jan. 9.
I feel compelled to respond to what I think is an inaccurate, misleading depiction of Sidney and our vibrant community.
The new developments the letter-writer refers to are replacing aging buildings that are beyond their expiry date, while providing modern commercial space and housing that allows more people to live downtown without the necessity of a vehicle. Sidney is blessed with a compact, walkable downtown, and we see people moving to our community for all sorts of reasons, including wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to be less reliant on car ownership.
Meanwhile, the town is adding more free parking in the community. We recently opened additional spaces behind Save-on-Foods, and a new employee parking lot will be constructed this year, in conjunction with the new community-safety building.
I would also like to point out that all on-street parking in downtown Sidney is free, and there are four parking lots within easy walking distance of the downtown core that are also free. We are striving to find a balance between providing adequate parking for residents and visitors, and ensuring that valuable land is used for housing people rather than for parking cars. I think we are doing a good job of it.
It’s also important to note that there is a significant difference in land costs between Langford and Sidney; in particular in and around the downtown.
As an example, a 5,000-square-foot lot in Sidney would likely be in the ballpark of $700,000. You would then have to factor in demolition costs and construction of the surface parking lot. When all is said and done, the Sidney taxpayer would be looking at a cost of between $55,000 and $60,000 per parking space (not to mention the loss in taxes). That equates to more than a 0.5 per cent tax increase for one parking stall.
Regarding vacancies in the downtown, new developments with ground-floor commercial are quickly leased, while the few vacancies you see are in old buildings that are slated for redevelopment or do not have what new businesses need. The town’s Economic Development Commission recently completed a comprehensive downtown vacancy registry that puts Sidney’s current vacancy rate at about four per cent. This is extremely low, as a healthy vacancy rate is considered to be closer to 10 per cent.
Yes, the “pattern of this council is obvious”: We care about our community and we support existing business while successfully attracting new business and residents. I regularly speak to newcomers who have moved to Sidney’s downtown area, and they are quick to note how thrilled they are to be here and that they were attracted to Sidney because of its walkability, vibrancy and seaside atmosphere.
Steve Price is mayor of Sidney.
