RTC Properties Ltd. is proposing to build a 48-unit accessible development on Sechelt’s waterfront that includes buildings from two to six storeys in height, meant to suit seniors in their retirement.
The six-storey apartment buildings would stand at 21.5 metres tall, basically the same height as the two Watermark towers, which are currently Sechelt’s tallest buildings.
The RTC proposal calls for one two-storey townhouse, two three-storey and two six-storey apartments for three parcels of land between the waterfront and Highway 101 in Sechelt, which will be accessible via Shorncliffe Avenue.
The three parcels at 5851 Sunshine Coast Highway total about 1.03 hectares and the area is designated in the official community plan as “Special Infill Area 2,” which demands detailed input from nearby residents.
Special Infill Areas 2 and 3 are waterfront residential areas with the potential for increased density; before considering development applications in these areas, “detailed analysis and discussion with area residents is required.”
Coun. Darnelda Siegers asked what that detailed discussion would look like when the project came forward to Sechelt’s planning and community development committee on Aug. 31.
Planner Aaron Thompson said this is the first application to come forward in Special Infill Area 2, so “there’s no kind of precedent as to what that looks like.”
Siegers then made a motion that after first reading, and before public hearing, staff bring forward “from the developer, the plans for more detailed analysis and discussion with area residents. They can go door to door, whatever, as long as people in the area are engaged,” she said. The motion was approved.
The project, if approved, will require community amenity contributions as well as one affordable housing unit contribution.
Community amenity contributions suggested so far include the construction of a better Shorncliffe Avenue roadway between the highway and the waterfront and the building of a Snickett Park extension in front of the property, including a three-metre paved pathway, benches and a plaza/seating area for the public.
“Of great importance will be the Snickett Park extension and the waterfront, which we will be paying very close attention to and expect a high quality design,” Thompson said.
Siegers noted that while amenities for the public are important, she was concerned about the impact high amenity costs could have on the developer’s final sale price for units.
“So I’d like staff to keep that in mind and I’d like some kind of indication on that as we go forward because, long term, those costs get passed on to the people who buy those units,” Siegers said.
Director of planning and development Andre Isakov said staff was considering the impact of amenities in conversations with the developer.
“I think in this case the applicant is being very cooperative,” Isakov said. “We’re working together, and overall, from staff’s perspective, I think this could be a really good balance that’s being proposed.”
Chris Moradian of RTC Properties Ltd. said his company hopes to start building some time next year and that the project would be completed in five phases. Moradian said he wasn’t sure which phase would go forward first, as the development is still in its infancy.
“It’s just at a very preliminary stage,” Moradian said, adding he had no idea what the potential cost of the units would be once completed.
Currently, RTC Properties Ltd. has no plans to rent any of the units and the development is envisioned as a strata. “These are mostly view-orientated units, larger units, adaptable units, mostly catering to the retirees who are moving to the Coast,” Moradian said.
“We wanted to keep it along the water and we wanted to make sure it would be accessible.”
The project needs a rezoning from R-1 to CD-39 to move forward. That rezoning was given first reading on Sept. 7. A public hearing has yet to be scheduled.
