Pop-up cafe bid brouhaha - Foreshore's low bow

Pop-up cafe bid brouhaha

Geraldton Guardian 15/05/2015

A group of Geraldton residents and business owners are angry at the lack of transparency in the City’s decision to endorse a “pop-up” café on the Geraldton foreshore.

The City has given public notice of its plans to enter a renewable lease arrangement for a 24sqm alfresco cafe near the intersection of Forrest Street and Foreshore Drive, contained within a side-opening sea container.

The plans also include a 10sqm timber decking with disabled access and seating.

If the proposal receives the consent of the minister for lands it will be allowed to operate for up to 10 years.

The public has been given 14 days to make submissions.

Go Health owner Steph Essex said she had no problem with another eatery in Geraldton, but was concerned with the way it had come about and the terms of the proposed lease agreement.

The proponent, Jaffle Shack owner Christian Watters, will pay a lease fee of $3948 per annum plus GST if the project gets the go-ahead.

“That is about how much I pay for one month’s rent in the CBD,” she said.

“It works out to be $75 per week for prime foreshore real estate.

“The City says they have no money, and they’re practically giving the land away.”

She said the City should have put the crown land out to public tender before endorsing the proposal.

“It is underhanded,” Ms Essex said.

She said the City should also be focused on revitalising the CBD.

“In the afternoons in the CBD you could shoot a gun and not hit anyone,” she said.

Tarts and Co director Hannah Nardi said there were a number of existing vacant spaces in the CBD that could be developed or revitalised.

Ms Nardi said the proposed cafe also did not fit within the description of a “pop-up”.

“A pop-up cafe is a removable structure,” she said.

“I’ve seen them in Melbourne and other locations in Australia and it is a temporary cafe, which at the end is packed up and removed with no evidence it was ever there.”

The area of crown reserve land to be leased was initially identified as a yarning circle, but subsequent consultation with the Aboriginal community has identified it is not an area of cultural significance.

Skeetas owner Colin Cox and residents Dave Crothers, Caroline Pettet and John McLaren are also publicly opposed to the plan.

Mr Crothers said he was pro-development, but the matter had been poorly handled by the City.

He said from his estimations the structure was going to be six metres high.

“That is just hideous. A transportable structure of that size on our foreshore,” he said.

“I question the process behind this development.

“The land should have been put out to tender, and the City should have asked the community if we even wanted another cafe,” he said.

Mr Watters estimates the cost of the project will be about $50,000, including the cost of the decking.

The costs associated with connecting power and water, maintenance and rubbish disposal also fall to him.

He said the alfresco cafe would be an exact replication of the Jaffle Shack’s front-of-house, and the fillings for the jaffles would be prepared in the kitchen of the existing Jaffle Shack cafe in Marine Terrace.

He said he would be working with the Department of Health to ensure the transportation of the food between sites was compliant with food safety practices.

At the conclusion of the lease it will be his responsibility to restore the site to its previous state, including removing the concrete slab.

The concrete slab will measure 8 x 3m, and there will be a 2 x 3m caged-off section at one end of the alfresco cafe to house rubbish.

Mr Watters said he submitted his proposal to the City more than 12 months ago.

“I submitted the proposal to the council on the condition the details of it were kept confidential, ” he said.

“No one else had approached the council with anything similar before. I came up with the idea of it being removable, and therefore incurring no infrastructure costs for the council,” he said.

Mr Watters has been a long-standing crusader for the revitalisation of the West End and refutes the claim his plan will draw people away from the CBD.

“The future of Geraldton’s tourism industry relies on these eateries. The whole aim is to keep people in town by providing them with as many alternatives as possible,” he said.

The Champion Bay Surf Life Saving Club is using this proposed development to support its long-running campaign for a parcel of land on the foreshore for club extensions.

Club president Peter Nelson said it had been “blocked” from building the extensions and negotiations with the City had stalled.

City of Greater Geraldton chief executive Ken Diehm was unavailable for comment.

Foreshore's low bow

Geraldton Guardian 22/05/2015

No more “substantially-sized” buildings will be built on the foreshore, according to the City of Greater Geraldton.

This comes after a Perth businessman claims he walked away from a proposed development in the CBD because the City wouldn’t guarantee the future of the site’s unobstructed ocean views.

His plans were to redevelop the old Skeetas building, at the corner of Cathedral Avenue and Foreshore Drive, into a restaurant and beer garden.

“The council said they couldn’t give me a guarantee, so I shied away from the development,” he said.

“Why would I invest there when someone could come along and block my view?

“The value of the property would be significantly decreased if the ocean views were impeded.”

City of Greater Geraldton chief executive Ken Diehm said this was “absolute rubbish”.

“The council has made it very clear it does not want any more substantial buildings on the foreshore,” he said.

“The site in question (former Skeetas) actually has potential to be multi-level and would in fact have extensive views over Champion Bay should any proponent choose to redevelop the site.

The City also responded to concerns from the community regarding the proposed “pop-up” cafe at the intersection of Forrest Street and Foreshore Drive.

It came under fire last week from local business owners and residents who claimed there had been a lack of transparency in its decision to endorse a proposal for a 24sqm cafe inside a sea container.

The proposal is out for public comment and if it receives the consent of the Minister for Lands, the “pop-up” cafe will be allowed to operate for up to 10 years.

Mr Diehm said tendering expressions of interest for the site was not seen to be a “positive move”.

He said the current proposal was the result of an application received from the proponent, and it was not appropriate for the City to then “market” the idea to other bidders.

The proponent is Jaffle Shack owner Christian Watters.

“The City likes to see innovative ideas developed and established in the city,” Mr Diehm said.

He said the City resolved to only advertise the intent to dispose of the land on the foreshore by way of lease.

He said the City also took into account the community would have the opportunity to comment via the Local Government Act 1995 land “disposal” process, via inviting submissions to be received before final determination.

“Currently, if the City were to receive other proposals on the foreshore, they would also be considered on their merit, ” he said.

Two major concerns with the proposal put forward by objectors is the annual lease fee and the issue of rubbish collection.

The lease fee for the foreshore site is $3948 a year plus GST.

Go Health owner Steph Essex said this was grossly undervalued and equated to one month’s rent for her in the CBD.

Mr Diehm said the ground rent fee for the land had been assessed by a licensed valuer appointed by the City.

He said if successful, it would be Mr Watters who was responsible for paying rates, rubbish charges and taxes as assessed — and the City would then undertake normal rubbish collection services.

The City is considering developing a policy for uses on the foreshore to assist in ensuring the community spaces and amenity are retained yet activities are available for the whole community to enjoy.