City council will start debating the fate of Lansdowne Park after listening last week to around 100 public delegations.
Alta Vista Coun. Peter Hume said there were some substantive motions coming forward that would “change the channel” on the direction of the process.
Part of the new direction change, said Hume, includes a competitive design process for the eastern half of the site including the Aberdeen Pavilion and the Horticulture Building.
Before approving the retail space, Hume said the vision for that space must be clearly defined.
It could be the heart of the artisan community or the region’s 100-mile diet effort, he said.
Hume said he believes council would tentatively approve the Lansdowne Partnership, but with a number of conditions that would require final approval next June.
Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen said there are still issues that need to be resolved, such as a third-party review of the contrasting retail impact reports and a heritage study.
“It just boggles my mind that we would even consider pursuing this until we had the results of our studies,” he said.
