A Small but Important Victory
The battle for our downtown has marked an important milestone. Licencing received public input on the massage parlors and this issue should go before council in a proper manner without the controversy of the late night closure.
(sour grape alert) I lay the blame for the extremely embarassing circus like fiasco on 3am closures on the fact that the DWBIA was literally locked out of the licencing commission’s meeting regarding that issue. I was turned away at the door and no input was ever received from the DWBIA even though it was verbally assured and written requests were made several times. No seat at the table, no dialogue with administration will always result in flawed policy.
This time we did it right, by we I mean the BIA, the city the administration and the councillors listened. The meeting was public, the BIA did have ideas and a view to contribute to the report and policy and I believe that they will be well received \because they merit that treatment.
This is how it should always be and hopefully this is how it will be in the future for issues that affect us all. I would like to see this on the Panhandling issue which the DWBIA has a thoughtful policy on, and the continuation of the Sustainable Downtown plan which has been shelved.
I want to commend and thank the city for correcting a problem with the process that lead to the rift in dialogue. Hopefully we can build on this, that the BIA will be included when obtaining input from planning on where this category of business should be zoned. Hopefully this will lead to more dialogue about other issues.
There is a chicken and an egg question here. Many people think that massage parlors sprout in areas that are derelict but they also are the reason those areas remain derelict and degrade even further. Show me an area dense in massage parlors and I’ll show you an area that has a high commercial vacancy rate. You can’t address that vacany rate until the problem is removed. This includes Pelissier street.
Second, Although I support local independant businesses, Downtowns must lure back national chains to intermingle with them. Many of those chains have conditions in their lease agreements that they will not locate within a certain distance from a massage parlor.
Third, could you imagine if a massage parlor located next to the city owned land in CIty Center West. OUr city has a $10 million investment (disputable but still a valid example) in those lands, how much further will those lands go down in value if massage parlors start sprouting up in the commercial properties surrounding them?
I always get asked would you rather have a vacant space than a massage parlor. The answer is you’re damn right I would because a massage parlor will yield more vacant spaces on either side of them.
Post Feedback
There used to be massage parlours near those lands and they were run out by the activists in the area hoping for better days. This was in the late 1980’s I believe.
The idea was to refurbish the area and turn it into the urban village this city now wants yet had back then. Sadly the short-sightedness of city hall destroyed the area along with the history of it for parking on a short-term solution; The interim casino.
I agree I too would rather a vacant storefront than those so-called “massage” parlours. Read the comments on The Star website about our downtown and most people say the samething over and over abotu the sex shops and massage parlours downtown (plus the bars) and most ask where is the retail for shopping!
“Massage” parlours attract what they are supposed to attract and most people wouldn’t want that in their own neighbourhood let alone next to their own business.
The Downtown Residents Association is behid you on this one Mark!
If we are to clean up downtown and get rid of the massage parlors, the head shops etc., then let’s use Time Square in New York city as an example and what they did there! I have experienced both ends of Time Square from the 1980’s when you wouldn’t walk through there in daylight without an armed escort to were you can stroll at midnight.
I agree with Mark, get rid of the massage parlors and other low life drawing businesses and start making it more amendable to the majority of population and businesses that would locate downtown, if only, but…..
What really gets me and I live in the core, is when the employees of at least one massage parlor on Ouellette come out of their building for a quick smoke and stand in front of their building, not the most pleasing sight to see and I for one would not want a massage from what I see of them standing on the street and I am no prude! The prostitutes of Amsterdam in the windows of their establishment have a lot more class than these employees!
With so many job losses, so much stress, and enough tension to kill a lion, no wonder massage parlours are popular. You know, it helps releave the stress.
With little good news to go around during these hard times, shouldn’t people have a place to go where they can find a happy ending?
Perhaps City Council can bring in a bylaw similar to what the province has done with cigarettes - no signs, completely hidden, with an out of site out of mind mentality.
But at the end of the day, we can’t take away the little happiness that is left - a good massage with a happy ending for those who have to deal with so much.
To the credit of the administration the licensing bylaw was extremely comprehensive.
The DWBIA input and policy statement (which I motioned) was to include signage restrictions that would not allow neon, backlit, images, strobe or flashing lights on the storefront.
Hopefully that will at least mitigate their issues with the surrounding properties