Mayor Watts, Enforce This Bylaw...

Lots of buzz about the last post " Mayor Watts, Tear Down These Walls"  Here's the story from the Peace Arch News.   Read here

Mayor Watts, Tear Down These Walls

All the good people of Surrey are asking for, is that the city enforce its unsightly property bylaw shown below.

 Set a deadline for the owner to remove the  building. If the deadline passes, the city must go in and clear the lot.
The city has the power to demolish the structure and charge the owner.

Unsightly Properties

Properties within the City of Surrey are required to be maintained at an acceptable level.  The Surrey Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises By-law, 2007, No. 16393 (PDF. New window.) sets acceptable levels of maintenance and defines what is considered unsightly. Accumulation of junk, discarded materials and garbage, dead landscaping, uncontrolled growth of landscaping, and deterioration of fences, buildings or other structures are examples of items contained within the definition of unsightly in the by-law.

Enforcement procedures:

Once a complaint is received, an inspection is conducted by a By-law Enforcement Officer. If the By-law Enforcement Officer determines the property falls within the definition of an unsightly property, the by-law is explained to the property owner, as well as what must be done to clean up the property. A deadline for the clean-up is set by the By-law Enforcement Officer after the property owner has been notified of the problem.

If sufficient clean-up of the property has not taken place after the deadline has lapsed, the City may have the property cleaned up at the expense of the property owner. The cost of the clean-up will form a part of the property taxes of the property if the property owner does not pay.

Make a complaint online or call 604-591-4370 to make a complaint.

- See more at: http://www.surrey.ca/city-government/4682.aspx#Unsightly Property

Mayor Watts, Tear Down These Walls.

Update: January 2014

The property at King George and 64th Avenue has been sold again. And still this building sits. A fence has been erected around the corner, but its gates have been breached many times and currently remain wide open. Concrete barriers have been moved and the lot is now wide open for any one who chooses to drive right in. 

Is it really asking too much for the city of Surrey to enforce its Unsightly Property Bylaw?

Original Post: September 2013

ReNewton began with the goal of placing the spotlight on the condition of the old public market site in Surrey.  We asked the mayor in 2011 if the city could purchase the neglected property and build a much needed arts/recreation/sport facility or public market. Something for the community. The response was that the city had tried, but the owner at the time 'didn't want to sell'. 

However in Jan of 2012, the property in fact did sell, but  the city of Surrey wasn't the buyer. 

Nearly fifteen years after shutting its doors, the structure still sits. Unsightly, exposed and  unsafe. 

The building you see below at the highly visible intersection of King George and 64th Avenue has been in a continuous state of decay for  well over a decade. 

 It's time for the bulldozers to arrive and remove this dangerous, deplorable structure. 

Mayor Watts, tear down these walls.

The  residents of Panorama Ridge, Panorama Northwoods and Sullivan Heights,  not to mention the citizens and taxpayers of Surrey in general, deserve  better than this. 

Happy August!

Well, after a rainy and dismal June here on the west coast, we were treated to the sunniest and driest July on record! Woot!
  ReNewton is taking a bit of a vacation this summer but we'll be back in September with all sorts of new things to talk about.
 In the meantime check out a few of the newest businesses that have opened up in the  South Newton/ Panorama Northwoods neighbourhoods.
 Support your local business!

Deserres on King George is a fave for artists and kids of all ages!

Pho Newton is a wonderful little place for a quick lunch. Very good service and the food is delish and reasonably priced. Located near the Bank of Montreal at Kings Cross at 76th and King George

Don't forget all the other shops that  always provide superb service and selection. Pet Food 'n More and The Organic Grocer are 2 faves. 

And.... how could we not mention Greco's Mediterranean Deli!  This is consistently ranked as the top deli in town. One visit and you'll see why.

Enjoying Summer's Harvest

Hope everyone's getting a chance to shop at the local farmers markets in the area. Wednesdays the Surrey Urban Market is at City Centre and Thursday InSeason Farmers Market is at Art's Nursery in Port Kells.

 Yesterday I shopped at Mary's Garden on 40th Ave in South Surrey and got the most delicious raspberries!
 Enjoy eating healthy!

Make way for Parklets!

 We're loving this fast and easy way to create community space on the street  

Check out Berkeley California's Parklets

Summertime!

On a wee hiatus for part of the summer!

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

ReMember to "Like" ReNewton on Facebook  

 And follow us on Twitter   for all the latest up to the minute news about ReNewton

One culturally diverse community's night market. We LOVE this idea!

How to Build a Better Block

Why you'll never look at your city the same way again....

James Kunstler hits the nail on the head with this  short  TED Talks video.  

Colourful language at times, but I'm confident that it's his message you'll remember from this TED Talks presentation.
A must see for anyone who cares about their community and especially for those in  decision making positions.

Newton Community Association first Meeting reminder- Tonight!

Reminder 

Tuesday, May 21

7-9

 Introductory Meeting

 to form a  community association for Newton

 This will be held at the Newton Recreation Centre/ Wave Pool in multi-purpose room 1

All those interested  are welcome to attend.

 (This is not a ReNewton sponsored event )

Another Great TED Talks - How to fit more people into every city

Have been watching a lot  of fascinating and informative  presentations on the  TED Talks channel. This is one that's been added to the favourites list. Enjoy!

Keep it Local

So many wonderful places to shop in our  Surrey-Panorama neighbourhood. This weekend why not check out a few. 

Greco's Deli never disappoints and has gifts for Mom too!

New in the area is DeSerres  Art Supplies on King George near 76th. They're having a grand opening weekend with lots of specials. Your kids will love this place!

 There is also a plant and bake sale at Bethany United Church    

(60th Ave &148th St) from 9-1pm Saturday.

Keep it Local friends!

Tonight- All Candidates Meeting for SRY-Panorama

All-Candidates Meeting – Surrey Panorama

Everyone is welcome! 

Tuesday-May 7th, 7:30 PM

Colebrook United Church Hall

5411 125A Street

Panorama Ridge

Retrofitting Suburbia....revisited

   Just came across this  video and wanted to share. It's really so simple.
We have to start looking at communities that work. Ones where people are out on the street interacting. They're safer, more enjoyable and healthier.

Smarter Communities

Festival Street and Parking Meters in Downtown Newton? Time for Action.

Some time ago the City of Surrey decided to install pay parking meters on 137th St. in downtown Newton.
Most,  if not all  businesses on the street didn't ask for this and would like them removed.
 There are other options to limit "overstays".  For example, have a 2 hour limit and and enforce it. Let's encourage more activity not less, along what council has promoted in the media one year ago as  " Festival Street "  And the downtown core is  a jewel compared to what  
The King George strip between 62nd and 68th  Avenues looks like.

So far nothing has been done to start revitalizing an area that many of you are calling New Whalley or Surrey's own Downtown Eastside.  

Take a walk from downtown Newton along King George down to 64th Avenue and see what The Future of Surrey looks like from Surrey-Panorama's viewpoint.

How about it Mayor Watts and council? 

Thursday Post - Here's to Jane

 Saturday marks the birthday of the late great Jane Jacobs who wrote the iconic
  The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

  I contend that unless city planners truly "get' Jane Jacobs, and embrace her vision, we will continue to see wider roads with more traffic, fewer people on the sidewalk and more crime and alienation.

Here's a very short video which captures the essence of Jane's  radical ( in 1962) vision

ReMembering Jane Jacobs 

Jane Jacobs out in the street

"It's All About the Corner" Jane Jacobs

"It's All About The Corner"

Some of you may  know that even before this place  (shown below) was a public market

there was an even  older way funkier and very successful market and community hub on the  same corner at King George and 64th Avenue. The goal of ReNewton was to bring back the public market to this corner. Now, our mayor, being focused  on City Centre so intently that she pays little attention to the state of south Newton, is fond of saying that this corner is not the right location for a public market. How very disingenuous of her!  The original market  the one housed in an old former roller rink was booming !   Fresh fish vendors, veggie stands, the  BEST Japanese take-out and so much more! It was one of the things that drew many of us to  the area and to ultimately purchase homes in what was then a semi-rural  part of the south Newton/ north Panorama neighbourhood.. 

And now, with 10s of thousands more people here and with 70,000 cars passing through the King George and 64th Avenue, well, just imagine the possibilities. 

But I digress.....

The land is privately owned and the owner has plans for a mixed use development but no construction is slated for the foreseeable future. And that's where we, and you come in. 

 Let's bring some life back to this corner and show that this IS a place that we in the community care about.  

Any arts group or individuals  who would like a huge  and very visible canvas to work on send a message to hey-jude@telus.net.  Some of  you have said you'd like to see a giant chess/checkerboard or a labyrinth and hey, who wants to yarn bomb those trees?  Wouldn't it be great  for drivers through that intersection to see those trees covered in something so whimsical and fun? Others have suggested food producers and a farmers market set up a few times this summer.

So... what are you waiting for?  Let's get creative!

Check out these new places in Newton!

Quick shout out to a few new places in the hood.

The Greek Corner  restaurant also is open in  Newton  in the  Save-on-Foods shopping centre.  Used to be John's Taverna now has new owners and a whole new look. We hope to pay them a visit soon. 

DeSerres  Art Supplies  on  the west side  of King George near 76th Ave. Amazing selection of art supplies for serious artists plus a HUGE selection of crafty items and great kids gifts and creative projects and kits. Gorgeous looking store- friendly knowledgeable staff!

Let us know if you've been! 

Wild Wing also in the same shopping centre on the Shoppers Drug Mart side. 

Looks like a fun place to go for a casual bite and enjoy ( hopefully)  watching the Canucks!

Plus, don't forget Bistro 72 located in the Old Surrey Restaurant. 

Less formal than the Old Surrey and a great place for live music on Fridays and Saturdays. 

Open for brunch too! 

Now get out there and start spending money in your own neighbourhood! Have fun, eat, drink, get creative, and shop!

  

New ( and Newish ) in the Neighbourhood - Check them out!

 Quick weekend post to tell you to be sure to check out  the brand new DeSerres Art Supply and Craft store on King George and 76th Ave. They opened yesterday! 

Had the most delicious Pho ( pronounced FA for those new to this delicious Vietnamese  noodle soup cuisine) the other day here at PHO Newton. Nice little place located right next to the Bank of Montreal at King's Cross  Shopping Centre at King George and 74th in Newton. Loved it!

Seemed like a good idea at the time....

Well, The community garden project has turned out to be a bit of a non starter.  There was so much initial positive response from the community, but as is often the case, finances and logistics  got in the way.   We probably could have justified the expenditures had the lot been given to us on a permanent or at least 2-3 year basis. Having it til only November at first didn't seem to be a bad deal but it's just not enough time to make it a sustainable enterprise. 

So.....

Thank you to everyone who sent messages of support and offers to help.  The outpouring of community spirit is so encouraging and will keep us going  to achieve the ultimate goal of revitalizing the King George corridor in south Newton between 62nd and 68th Avenues. 

We still envision creating The George Arts District. 

Where there's a will- there's a way and it's been clear from your calls and messages that this is what the community wants.

 No matter what neighbourhood they're from, patios and cafes  on the street are what people keep telling us they want! Really, REALLY want!

 Just remember Margaret Mead's famous quote:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” 

What would happen if we shut down  a few blocks of The George for a street fair?

Gotta have kids involved in any festival or community  event!

Who doesn't love a farmer's market?

Farmers,  neighbourhood groups,  artisans, food producers all get  great exposure!

And what's a street festival without loads of music and dancing?