It appears the City of Vernon may have put the cart before the horse.
Considerable effort went into turning the old Correale building on 39th Avenue into a new visitors information centre, including spending $292,215 on extensive renovations and landscaping so the facility is appealing to tourists.
However, the original May 1 opening date has fallen by the wayside and there is no indication as to when the centre’s doors will open.
The problem is the Ministry of Transportation has not signed off on the city’s rezoning process so a visitors centre is an appropriate land use there (the ministry gets involved with any development within 800 metres of a highway).
City officials may have assumed the ministry would rubber stamp the rezoning, but that obviously wasn’t the case. After all, the ministry has to consider the potential impact a development may have on highway traffic. It’s also likely reviewing the city’s request for a left-turn signal at 32nd Street and 39th Avenue, and given that provincial coffers are tight, there’s no guarantee funding will be available.
The other issue to consider is the wheels of bureaucracy grind slow so the expectation of a decision before May 1 was overly optimistic.
Coun. Bob Spiers isn’t sure what Victoria’s ultimate decision will be.
“If it (centre) ever opens. If they haven’t given approval by now, who knows. They’ve had it for a couple of months,” he said.
And given the ongoing delay, the city must consider the prospect of the ministry not endorsing rezoning. Is there a plan B for tourism services?
