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By Adam Berls

city hall

Empty storefront pilot motion postponed after lengthy discussion

Aug 18, 2025 | 7:33 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — City Councillor Trudy Klassen’s motion regarding launching a temporary use pilot for empty storefronts in the downtown has been postponed after discussion around council revealed divisions about the motion.

Councillor Klassen’s motion says “Downtown Prince George faces economic challenges with C1 zone vacancy rates up to 25%, exceeding the healthy 5-7% range.” and that a pilot could enable pop-up shops and “community uses.”

The motion would “allow vacant ground-floor commercial spaces to” be used for such purposes as:

• Community-enhancing uses such as art studios, small retail, new entrepreneurs, and cultural spaces reflecting downtown’s character.
• Temporary food uses (e.g., pop-up restaurants, food trucks)
• Community services (e.g., art workshops, sports clinics)
• Light creative manufacturing, and
• Other uses as recommended through consultation with Indigenous communities, the DBIA, Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures, and other relevant stakeholders

Klassen’s motion also notes that “vacant storefronts fuel perceptions of stagnation, worsened by homelessness and economic transition”.

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Councillor Cori Ramsay noted that the motion was a “great idea”, but needed a more concrete layout to see how the pilot would work. She also asked if the motion could be referred to staff to be brought back to council with more information. Klassen said she wanted to make the motion in a way that would create less work for city staff. She said that less vacancy would make the downtown more lively.

Councillor Kyle Sampson said that he had concerns with the motion, noting that there were still a lot of questions that had to be answered that were not clear in the motion. In response to a comment about the downtown being “empty” made by Klassen, Sampson stressed the need to be careful with the wording used around council chambers. He found Klassen’s comment about the downtown being “empty”, offensive and retorted that the downtown isn’t empty because there are still lots of businesses downtown. Councillor Ramsay also mentioned that a 75% occupancy rate in the downtown is something to be proud of, and that there are other barriers for businesses opening in downtown, such as high commercial rents.

Councillor Garth Frizzell said that a similar motion that was passed in Vancouver, regarding the Downtown Eastside, and a scaled down version of Vancouver’s plan, would serve well in Prince George. Councillor Ron Polillo says that the motion is a good idea, but that more needs to be flushed and there are a lot of unknowns and was in support of referring the motion to staff.

In response to concerns brought up by other councillors, Klassen said that it seems that council “isn’t concerned” about the empty, vacant storefronts in the downtown. Director of Planning and Development Deanna Wasnik, noted that more would need to flushed out in the motion to give her and her department an idea of where to go.

Nearly an hour of discussion was spent on this motion and Councillor Brian Skakun noted that this was an example of “council’s dysfunction” because nothing would be done, because in referring the motion to staff is counter-productive, because staff themselves don’t have a concrete view on what they would need to bring back to council. Mayor Simon Yu said that this would require more discussion due to council’s division.

In the end, Councillor Klassen tabled her motion and would be brought back up at the September 3 council meeting.

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X: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com