I smiled at this little episode, as it isn’t the first time something like this has happened.  My wife leaned over and accused, in mock jest, “We’ve created a monster!”  “Not a monster,” I replied, “a gourmand!”  And so it is that my 7-year old, the one that I would have least expected to convert from all things junk food to a culinary diva, has become the driving force for good food in our home.

That is really the key, isn’t it?  If we can convert the kids to good food they are going to demand it from their parents.  No more frozen pizzas or crappy industrial take-out, they are going to ask, plead, even beg from homemade, fresh, and, above all, real food.  That is why movements from Slow Foods USA, Time for Lunch, FarmtoSchool, or, for my fellow Canadians, Real Food for Real Kids are so important.  With all the time and effort we invest in trying to teach our children how to be good, perhaps we should consider feeding them good and see what changes that brings.

We’ve had a garden, in varying degrees, for the past 3 years now.  The first year was just a couple of tomato plants, the last two years was a jump to 900 sq ft garden.  The first two years we used heirloom seeds from Agrestal (unfortunately no longer in business) and last year tried conventional seeds from Vessey’s.  Now granted last year was a terrible year for growing, not to mention we are novice gardeners by any stretch, but this year we are going back to heirloom seeds, both for the diversity of the product, but also because we can buy seeds that were produced locally, not just marketed locally.

At the ACORN conference we had the opportunity to visit with a couple of organizations and companies that I think are worthy of a mention here.
First is Hope Seeds from Glassville, NB.  Run by Andrea Berry, Hope Seeds is an Atlantic Canada company through and through.  Andrea and a small crew of passionate gardeners manage to put together a collection of vegetables, herbs, flowers and even Jerusalem Artichokes and seed potatoes, all grown in the same climate as PEI.  While not 100% certified organic, Andrea does sell some certified organic seed (which I assume she gets from a small network of growers that she enlists to produce her seed to augment her own growing efforts), Hope Seeds is a 100% heirloom and heritage seed seller.  As someone who has grown to love the diversity of heirloom seeds, not to mention the ability to buy seeds that are ‘design by nature’ for the Atlantic Canada climate, having someone like Andrea and Hope Seeds close by allows me to breath a huge sigh of relief.

The second company is Annapolis Seeds from Middleton, Nova Scotia.  Annapolis Seeds is a relatively new player in the heritage seed marketplace in Atlantic Canada, but that is just fine by me.  While the catalogue is simple, the selection of this Annapolis Valley grower more than compensates.  Flipping through the catalogue I had no idea that 2010 was only the second year for this fledgling seed company, or that that the owner and operator was only 17 years old!  I don’t know if young Owen Bridge has help with this enterprising company, but his descriptions of the products, his personal touches on each seed story, and a stunning array of interesting (and sometimes quirky) vegetables makes this seed seller another worthy option.

The last, but perhaps most important, recommendation is Seeds of Diversity.  While not technically a seed producer, Seeds of Diversity plays a critical role in maintaining the heirloom seeds that will be essential to agriculture in the years to comes.  Some estimates state that up to 75% of the plants grown on farms 100 years ago are now extinct.  That is a staggering percentage, if true.  Personally, what disturbs me is the power that we have given companies like Monsanto over our food production.  With controversies such as the terminator gene and rBGH in their history, not to mention their vindictive pursuit of alleged seed savers, the answer to Monsanto, both in Canada and abroad, is Seeds of Diversity.

While there are other noteworthy companies, High Mowing Seeds is a stand-out in my mind, that you could order from and still keep it local (if you are from Atlantic Canada or the NE USA).  Some people may ask why I didn’t include Johnny’s Seeds in my recommendations.  First, they are not a solely heirloom seed company.  Second, I overheard one of their company representatives telling a farmer (a presumably high-volume seed buyer) that “of course we don’t grow all our seeds in Maine.  We simply couldn’t keep up with demand so we outsource to growers all around the world.”  That means that, while Johnny’s is local (OK, Maine), their seeds are more well-traveled than I am.  In other words, I want seeds that have spent less time on an airplane or an ocean-liner than I have.

The most important part of planting a garden is — planting a garden.  Sewing the seeds is the most important part of the process.  The rest is just magic.

Charlottetown is a pretty progressive city when it comes to farm animals in the city.  My former hometown of Windsor, Ontario is going through some crazy ‘working committee’ development process, which will make a recommendation to council, which will then further debate the issue and, if all goes according to plan, will approve it.  More than likely, the idea will be debated to death in the working committee, lost in the shuffle in the by-law stage, and be laughed off by council if it ever sees the light of day.

Contrast that to the forward thinking mayor of Charlottetown, Clifford Lee, who, when put on the spot by a CBC reporter last year said, “Let’s see how this little experiment goes”.  Well, by not making an issue out of our chickens we, to my knowledge, are still the only ones in Charlottetown with chickens in our backyard.  Perhaps it is lack of knowledge, perhaps it is nobody else wants them.  I don’t know what the reasoning is, but the even-handed ‘wait and see’ approach of city administration makes urban farming a reality.

Rob Patterson, a good friend and fellow ‘big thinker’ , has an interesting article on his blog today about Detroit Michigan, the former Motor City, and the rise of urban farming there.  I’ve both visited and worked in Detroit, a common career option for Windsorites, and I know the challenges that Detroit has experienced over the years.  In the 2 years since we left Ontario things have only gotten worse in that city.  It is no surprise then that people are willing to let urban farming back into the city — they really have nothing else to lose.

I hope that Charlottetown doesn’t have to follow the path of Detroit, being nearly ruined in order to accept that small-scale and intensive farming operations have a place in our city.  With ‘traditional’ (at least for the last 50 years or so) farmers exiting stage left at a rapid pace, alternative farming (aka ‘the way it used to be’) will need to come back to fill in the gaps left when corporate farming seizes complete control of our lives via our dinner plates.

Some might call us foodies, but that isn’t what this local, real, sustainable food adventure is all about.  Plus, I would argue that foodies aren’t locavores, just pretentious and picky eaters.  We, on the other hand, love our food.  We, like foodies, love good food, but that is where the commonality ends.  Food is not such much an indulgence, though it is that at many meals, but it is more of a sacrament now.  I don’t mean to invoke any suggestions that our meals are on par with the importance of the emblems of the Saviour, only to communicate how we view our food.

Eating is has transformed for us.  Sure, we indulge ourselves on occasion eating far too many of my wife’s chocolate chip cookies than we should, but food is not a mechanical process of sustaining our bodies, it is about feeding mind, body and spirit.  This connection to our food comes from buying much of what we consume from local producers.  Buying everything local is simply not a reality for our family where tastes, preferences and special needs dictate otherwise, but we have diverted a significant portion of our grocery budget to our local producers.

Connecting our food to our friends was a huge step, but knowing how to prepare that food was the key to our conversion process.  Making the conscientious choice to connect with our local foods by cooking from scratch means we understand (ok, mostly my wife understands) the effort required to produce a nutritious, wholesome, and satisfying meal.  It is the trifecta of locally foods, cooked at home, and consumed as a family that has transformed meals from manic to memorable.

As I become more passionate about food, particularly its role in the freedom of people, I realize that we are too disconnected from our food — production, preparation and consumption.  I’ll ponder on this topic a little more and see what ideas spring into my mind.  For now I would recommend reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  Though she takes eating local to an extreme (I might die if I didn’t have access to curry), she eloquently describes how her family reconnects with food and each other.

Below is what I sent to our city planning department and city council.

City of Charlottetown Planning Department

I am writing in opposition to the proposed zone change of the properties, formally known as PID 388140 and parts of PID 388215 and 390740, from Highway Commercial (C-2) and a Comprehensive Development Area to Shopping Centre Commercial (C-3). I intend for these written comments to be submitted to the formal record on this proposal and to be reviewed by any and all interested parties.
Please be clear that I present these comments on my own behalf, and that my comments do not represent the views of my employer, any community groups or organizations to which I may belong, or to any previous community groups, organizations and/or employers that I may have been formally associated with.

My opposition takes a three-pronged approach: environmental, social and economic – much like the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan that was adopted by council earlier this year. In fact, my first point of opposition is centred on the ICSP. While I will not rehash the commitments made by council and city administration as outlined in the ICSP, I have not seen any evidence that this proposal for a commercial shopping centre, better known as a big box development, was vetted against the standards as defined within the ICSP. The city, through that document, has made a commitment to use the standards and guidelines of the ICSP as a litmus test for all future development within the city limits. Until such an exercise has been completed and reported to city residents, the city, by its own defined process, cannot proceed with the approval of any amendments to the zoning of this property.
While measuring this development against the ICSP should result in the required critique of this big box development, I will indulge myself of the opportunity to add information to the discussions around three of the aforementioned pillars, working in reverse order.

Economic
The proposal by many developers of big box developments revolves around the promise of increased economic activity as driven by the construction of the properties (a boon to the construction and its associated supporting industries) but also to the increase in economic activity associated with these new developments. In particular, many parties on PEI argue that we are simply stemming the flow of Islanders who are already leaving the Island to shop at these big box retailers, keeping the money “on the Island” instead of putting it into the New Brunswick or Nova Scotia economies.
The idea that building big box stores is a net economic gain for PEI is completely false. While developers are quick to provide the city with a Traffic Impact Study that supports their new development, neither the developer nor the city has conducted an Economic Impact Study to determine what the long-term impact of this new development might be.

First, and foremost, the city should be questioning why PlazaCorp would want to invest in a big box development in a depressed economy such as grips our world today. Even if an global economic recovery were on the horizon, the market of retail is projected to be gloomy long-term according to
Grubb & Ellis Research1 in a 2009 outlook. With home sales, nationally, bottoming out and employment numbers continuing their downward trend, retail sales, and the associated rents and pad prices, continue to their downward slide. Though PlazaCorp is betting on a return to the hay-day of a decade ago, they are making no promises, commitments, or guarantees of an increase in economic prosperity to Charlottetown, nor are they promises to continue to generate tax revenue by through continuous occupation of these new developments by retailers.

Second, even if PlazaCorp were confident in their ability to make a profit on the project, the reality is that any short-term financial gains made by our local economy would be quickly offset by a loss in revenue in local retail. The numbers are alarming. In rejecting a proposed big box development, St. Albans, Vermont, declared that the overall impact of such a development would lead to a net decrease of 110,000 sq ft of retail space, cut retail employment by 381 jobs and cost local tax payers $2.50 for every $1 in tax revenue generated by the planned complex. If it is choice, more employment, or an increase in tax revenues that is driving this planned development, there is significant evidence from other communities throughout North America that a big box development will fail to deliver on its economic delusions of grandeur.

Third, big box has a proven detrimental effect to local business. While I will speak to the importance of local businesses in context of our social prosperity later, it should be noted that local businesses play an important role in our fiscal prosperity as well. In a square foot to square foot comparison local owned businesses pack a greater fiscal impact than big box developments. According to a study2 by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in September 2003, local businesses drive $179/sq foot of economic activity, whereas big box delivers only $105/sq foot. Moreover, in a study published by CivicEconomics.com, it was noted that locally owned businesses spent 44.6% of their revenues in the surrounding communities and an additional 8.7% in the surrounding state or province. Contrasted against big box, local retailers will re-invest 53.3% of their revenues into our Island community vs. the measly 8.7% of revenues that big box retailers will return.

Fourth, and finally, big box retail actually costs that host them tax revenue. In a report3 published in Ohio it was discovered that, as a segment, big box retail costs the hosting city $0.44 per square foot annually. Roughly calculated for the proposed development, that means that Charlottetown can expect to pay an additional $108,000 per year for the privilege of hosting a big box development. The numbers are more dire when we contrast it against the type of retail for which PEI, and Charlottetown, has become known throughout the region and the world. In a report4 for the town of Barnstable, MA, big box retail was demonstrated to have one of the worst net annual fiscal impacts. While specialty retail (the mainstay of our tourism-based economy) has an annual fiscal gain of $326 / 1000 sq feet, big box retail had an annual loss of $468 / 1000 sq feet. Additionally, speciality retails wins again generating $1,112 of revenue per 1000 sq feet with big box retail generating less than half as much at $554 of revenue per 1000 sq feet.

1 http://www.grubb-ellis.com/pdf/natmrkttrnd/markettrendretail.pdf
2 http://www.newrules.org/sites/newrules.org/files/midcoaststudy.pdf
3 www.regionalconnections.org/documents/pdf/fiscalimpacts.pdf
4 http://www.amiba.net/pdf/barnstable_fiscal_impact_report.pdf

It should come as no surprise that Charlottetown, and the rest of Prince Edward Island, simply cannot afford for another big box development to wreak havoc on our economy. Not only will we lose retail diversity as big box retail hammers our smaller retailers, but we will be fiscally penalized for choosing to go ahead with this project. Whether it is in contributions to our local economy by local retailers, or direct loses related to tax revenues or retail revenue density, we are poised to gain nothing from the introduction of more big box retail in our city.

Social
The social consequences of development are often overlooked, usually taking a backseat to the economic promises and hopes of a “bigger is better” mentality. While the ICSP specifically targets social impacts as a metric for future development in Charlottetown, a cursory analysis of the proposed development and accompanying traffic study tells most of the story.

First consider the scale of development that is being proposed. The city of Charlottetown issued a press release on 24 February 2010 singing the praises of the parking available in our downtown. With 3,000 street side and 1,360 spaces in parking garages, Charlottetown has ample parking, but, more importantly, has a diversity of parking in both location and price, for our needs. Parking downtown means interacting with other residents, usually a short walk through our city streets, and a chance to enjoy the benefits of living in our city. In fact, in a February 2009 study5 done in Toronto, it was determined that consumers who arrived either by foot or bicycle spent more money than their counterparts who arrived by car.
Why is that important in a big box development? As quoted from the Traffic Impact study on this project “there are no pedestrian pathways or crosswalks shown on the proposed site plan”. What does that mean? It means that, if approved, this development of nearly 250,000 sq feet and 1000 parking spaces will be a ‘parking lagoon’ devoid of opportunities for public interaction, designed to minimize social opportunities and maximize potential space for automobile driving consumers. As in many of the big box developments that currently exist in Charlottetown, navigating to these retail establishments without the aid of motorized transit is daunting and unlikely. While I acknowledge the suggestions made by ADI, the reality exists that the site plan is not conducive to pedestrian and cyclist traffic, no matter what additions for paths and crosswalks are made.

Second, big box retail does not define the people of Charlottetown or PEI. A big box store in Charlottetown is the same is Halifax, Toronto, New York, or any other community throughout North America. People do not visit our Island and our community to visit a retail establishment that they can find in their own backyard, they visit us for the diversity that our local retailers bring, for the culture and excitement of finding something unique to PEI. Islanders depend on local businesses for informal social opportunities, to maintain friendships, and build new connections. Big box stores are designed for efficiency of consumption, not to build and strengthen the social ties of community.

5 http://www.cleanairpartnership.org/pdf/bike-lanes-parking.pdf

Environmental
Though it should be abundantly clear, this development lacks an Environmental Impact Study. As the parking study plainly points out, “there is a vertical downgrade running south to north through the site that will … need to be flattened to provide a reasonable grade across the parking lot for parking vehicles.” This development will modify the natural watersheds that exist in the area, but more importantly, will introduce increased traffic to the site (an actually increase which is oddly not enumerated in the Traffic Impact Study) bringing with them the runoff and congestion associated with that increase.
Additionally, the modification of this landscape from breathing soil to a paved surface will contribute to the “urban heat sink” effect that plagues so many urban areas. Instead of naturally managing the sun, rain, and snow as it now does, the parking lot will hold heat in the summer, heating the night air, will promote rain runoff both into surrounding arable land and into our community storm sewers, and require additional resources to clear and manage snow on a per-fall basis.

Lastly, big box retail fails, in every way, to be a sustainable option for Charlottetown. The ICSP directs the city to consider the environmental impacts of future development on our city, both for the near and long term. Permitting the addition of hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space will increase our environmental footprint instead of decreasing it through intensification, adaptive reuse and smart development.

Summary
I expect that council will review the comments and concerns of all parties involved in this process and discussion. It is my hope that my comments will have added to the positive and open discussion about the importance of the fiscal, social and environmental condition of our city. I also hope that council takes this opportunity to review this development, to vet it against the standards set out in the ICSP, and define the future of development in our city to a higher standard. I look forward to council voting firmly and unanimously against the request for a change in zoning.

The reality is that nobody else, no other blog, has provided me without enough of an outlet for my ideas, thoughts and, yes, sometimes rants, to satiate my desire to express myself.  My wife reminds me that sometimes I talk just for the sake of talking.  She is probably right.  Fair warning — some of my writing will be just for the sake of writing and will serve no other purpose in the greater sphere of humanity and things.  However, I hope to contribute, positively speaking, to the greater understanding of myself and humanity.

Consider this first post also fair warning that, although I tend to write about family, food and freedoms, I do not restrict myself to only those subjects.  I may venture into politics, religion, science, education, — any topic that strikes my fancy.  My views are mine own, and are subject to change on a whim.  Feel free to challenge them, but please have the courtesy to reference scholarly, intelligent, or otherwise thoughtful ideas.  If you want to blindly rant and rave, I am sure you can find some other place to do it.
I hope you enjoy the journey, it’s likely to be a wild one!