Council showing the city is open for business
By Lethbridge Herald on March 11, 2022.
Editor:
Maybe it’s the gradually disappearing artifacts of COVID. Or the feeling that winter is slowly melting into spring. Whatever the reason for newfound enthusiasm, it seems there’s also a new vibe going on at city council. Maybe, just maybe, Lethbridge is back open for business ,too.
There are numerous examples of how Lethbridge has become perceived as a place more interested in cultural and social artifices than pesky business. However, a landmark event occurred in council chambers Tuesday. A bylaw amendment by neophyte councillor Nick Paladino was passed against the wishes of City management so that a local businessman, Rob Duncan, could simply go about his business.
For most reasonable residents this would seem like no big deal and hardly newsworthy. That is until they learn a little bit about the tortured history of this very reasonable measure.
You see, in the dying days of the last mayor and council, the very same amendment was shot down in flames. Praise be, with this new council capably led by a pro-business mayor Hyggen, the connection between a healthy small business sector and healthy city tax coffers has finally been made.
Now Mr. Duncan, to the delight of many of the residents, is free to make application to develop (on a temporary basis), a greatly needed rental storage facility in West Lethbridge. Although we are still far from being out of the woods when it comes to archaic processes and attitudes at City Hall, we shouldn’t dwell on the negative. It’s high time we throw the “Open For Business” sign up so more jobs can be created, more taxes can be paid, and more funding for all the services we all demand can be paid for.
Hopefully this is an idea whose time has come to stay.
Dale Leier
Lethbridge
10-9
Three of the most frightening things you can say about an elected government: ‘open for business’.
Sad that it should even be necessary. Open for business should be the norm rather than the exception.
Yup, a “greatly needed storage facility “. God knows the 22 existing City storage facilities are just not cutting it and adding a 4th adjacent to the 3 that are already located in the area where this to go will be answer to so many prayers! [ Sarcasm deeply intended !! ]
A few questions: when has ” temporary” never become “permanent” in this City? Why was this specific parcel of land, and only this parcel picked for rezoning? When has a rezoned parcel ever been returned to its original designation?
I’m not a fan of City Administration , particularly when it has taken unto itself too much power [ green bins, curbside pickup for example ] and pushes it’s decisions over the will of the electorate and the elected , but I do not see this decision as a moral victory of one ” side” over another.
Of the 22 that are shown when Google only, 6 are actually double listings, 3 are outside the city, 2 are for just for holding business documents and only 1 is in West Lethbridge where 45% of the population lives. BTW, the 1 on the West side has ZERO vacancy. The fact is, it shouldn’t be up to the City to decide if a service is needed or not… that’s why we have businesses in the first place. At the end of the day, this is a moral victory because the city expects this landowner to pay taxes. Letting him provide a service allows him to do exactly that. In some countries that’s against the law.
West Side Strorage, Strorage Mart, Storage 2 You – all in city limits and w/in spitting distance of this location on the west side. Spaces available … yes, I checked.
I’m not saying he should not provide the service if there is a need but I am curious what motivated the change of heart from the last hearing and the decision to make this “temporary” zoning change.
“There’s a whole industry based on keeping an eye on your stuff!”
~George Carlin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac
Never seen a guy so stoked about a rental storage facility getting city approval that he’d write a letter to the paper about it. This might even be the first time in history this has ever happened. Beautiful.
the great pocket liners – how much are we doling out to the usual cast of characters this year?