Decisions about the Kingpin Lounge parking lot and a new show being filmed in Hope made for an interesting council meeting last week Monday (June 24).
Kingpin Lounge Parking Lot
Despite District of Hope staff recommending otherwise, council (minus Coun. Pauline Newbigging who excused herself, due to being in a relationship with Kingpin owner Calvin Barnett) voted unanimously in favour of lifting the covenant on the parking lot at 828 6th Avenue.
The decision was made after Barnett spoke before council and asked that the covenant be removed. At the time, the covenant prevented the land from being used for anything else but a parking lot. It also prevented building or construction to take place on the property.
“Business for the downtown core, 6.4.1, does not require off-street parking. Therefore the Kingpin does not require off-street parking,” Barnett said during the meeting.
“The District of Hope’s community plan is supposed to encourage the expanding of the downtown core. Which is not what we’re doing here by keeping a parking lot that is not needed.
“And, after 4:30 p.m. everyday, there are 500 available parking stalls up and down the town. As far as my business goes, my business is 9:30 p.m. at night till 12:30 a.m. in the morning. There is plenty of parking in Hope, so I should be able to have the covenant lifted.”
During the meeting, councillors Angela Skoglund, Scott Medlock, and Dusty Smith voiced their approval towards removing the covenant; the three councillors said that removing the covenant would provide an opportunity to sell and build a residence or another business on the property. They said it might also help with encouraging more people to walk to the Kingpin, instead of driving.
Filming — Noise Exemption
Council also voted unanimously in favour of exempting Ginkym Production Services Inc., on July 4 and July 5, from the “noise regulation timelines in District of Hope Good Neighbour Bylaw No. 1240, 2008 for the filming production” of season one of Untamed.
The exemption is between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. and is only for the specific areas outlined in the report given to the district.
“Everyone has been really supportive of it. And I don’t think there’s been anyone who’s had any complaints or concerns that we can’t address,” said a representative for Ginkym Production. “And for the people most affected by the filming on 6th Avenue and Commission Street, which will be on Thursday, my plan is to compensate everyone affected on the block there. I’ll give them the option to be put up in a hotel for the night or give them the cash value equivalent of that.
“So, we’re trying to keep everyone friendly and open.”
According to the representative the noise exemption was required for the film crew’s generators which, he said, can get quite loud during filming.
Since last week, the film crew has been working on a mural, on the side of the Kingpin building on Wallace Street, for the show. The mural depicts a figure, who looks similar to the Trickster Coyote, who is surrounded by Indigenous men and women.
