There are a number of things in Victoria you can bank on year in and year out.

There will always be hanging baskets in the summer, afternoon tea served in fragile china cups and a sense of smugness while we're counting blooms as the rest of the country shovels snow.

The other constant is there will be little or no change at the Belleville Street terminal -- home to Clipper Navigation, Blackball Transport, U.S. and Canada customs and, apparently, a time machine -- because on that site nothing ever seems to change other than the freshness of the paint.

"You will be writing my obit before you're writing about [new development] here," joked Darrell Bryan, president and CEO of Clipper Navigation and a long-time advocate of renewal of the site, which is the first thing a million visitors to Victoria see every year.

Of the city's 3.5 million annual visitors, about a third of them come via the Clipper from Seattle or the MV Coho operated by Black Ball from Port Angeles and roll into the terminal along Belleville Street.

The lot, which has been described as an eyesore by tenants, visitors and residents alike because of the stream of chain-link fencing and "temporary" buildings, has been on the redevelopment radar of various levels of government, agencies and businesses for years.

Even the Provincial Capital Commission, the body that manages the province's assets and is landlord for the terminal facility, has described the lands as outdated, too small and too old.

But in all that time, while options and new visions of the site have been studied and shelved, nothing has changed.

"It's an absence of political will," said Bryan, who says it comes down to what the provincial government wants, and right now the only thing it has eyes for is Vancouver and the Olympics.

"It's also about a premier who doesn't feel beholden to Victoria, and the fact the [terminal] is in the leader of the opposition's riding," he said.

Bryan said Clipper Navigation has cut its spending in the region because of the lack of movement on the terminal issue.

"Any practical person would say they aren't investing any more in this market, if the province doesn't care about this gateway to Victoria and the province and country why should we?" he said.

Ryan Burles, president and CEO of Black Ball Ferry Line, which operates the MV Coho, understands Bryan's frustration but said he remains optimistic something will change eventually.

"Our thoughts are we want to establish partnerships to make it happen," he said. "We see politically what's going on in terms of the focus on Vancouver and the Olympics but in due time, with the right arguments and having the support of Tourism Victoria and the chamber, it will come to fruition."

Burles said while their facility is adequate at the moment, it would make more sense to establish a multi-use terminal -- the like of which has been talked about for years -- that would add some form of cultural or tourism attraction.

"To me this is a common sense thing. This does need to happen at some point. We need to create a seamless connection and make this professional and do justice to this harbour and this capital," he said.

From the city's perspective, there's a need to look at the terminal within the context of redeveloping the entire legislative precinct.

"That includes not only the waterfront but the lands surrounding the legislature and the museum and parts of the Inner Harbour itself," said Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin. "There's great interest in developing and pulling together a strong vision, one that is sustainable and one that has support, and the terminal redevelopment is a key part of that."

Unfortunately for people who are looking for action at the site, that's apt to sound an awful lot like the start of undertaking another series of studies.