Concerns voiced at the March 7 council meeting stalled plans for a seven-story complex with ground floor commercial space and 81 rental apartments at the Sunnycrest Motel site on Gibsons Way.
A variance permit for a building height of 20.5 metres and for 68 rather than 138 on-site vehicle parking spots was referred to staff for further negotiations with developer, TRC Construction Managers. Twenty-eight of the apartments are slated to be affordable rental units.
The meeting included an opportunity for the public to speak on the issue and a handful of residents did so. While the need for more rental apartments was acknowledged, most were not in favour of proceeding with the variance. The project’s scale, both in size and cost were points of contention. One individual stated the height and mass “would change the face of the town forever” and would set precedents for similar-sized development proposals for neighbouring properties. He also expressed fears that project, which he estimated could cost as much as $50 million to build, would run into financing challenges and be delayed in completion.
Other speakers asked council to delay the approval until after an update to the town’s official community plan (OCP) that addresses issues such as high rise buildings and high-density developments is completed.
Coun. Annemarie De Andrade agreed with those speakers. She said she viewed moving forward with the variance before the OCP reconsiders those issues would result in council “creating an impact in the community that we don’t understand."
What council decided
Council endorsed a motion that further consideration of the variance be delayed until after a traffic study on the proposal is received and considered. It also directed staff to obtain an “opinion letter” on the financial viability of the project from a land economist.
Issues that council wants discussed further with the developer include the duration that the apartments would be retained as rental housing stock. In a presentation at the meeting, staff noted that TRC had agreed to a period of 15 years. That raised red flags for several at the council table, who had expressed hopes that the units would be held as rentals for a longer period or “in perpetuity” to help address the town’s need for more rental housing.
There was also an ask that inclusion of accessible units and parking spaces be discussed with the developer.
The proposed parking provisions were another sticking point for the elected representatives. Coun. Stafford Lumley stated the current 50 per cent reduction in the number of spaces “simply won’t work." Mayor Silas White indicated his preference would be the provision of a minimum of one space per residential unit plus the required spaces for the other uses in the building. He said that would be in addition to the provision of the developer’s plan to include car share parking spots and memberships as well as e-bike charging stations for building tenants.
Staff were also asked to discuss increased public engagement regarding the proposal with the developer and report back to council.
