RTC Properties is asking Sechelt council to reconsider its application for height variances at its West Porpoise Bay Estates project, on Marine Way.
RTC has been looking for a height variance on six buildings in the project. In February the planning committee recommended granting the variance for just two of the buildings, but that recommendation was defeated by council in March.
The application has faced resistance from residents in existing stratas in the neighbourhood who say the new buildings will block the view, something they were promised would not happen when they bought their homes and paid a premium for “view condos.” They also claim their strata council did not agree to allow changes to their garage and parking access and property lines.
Project architect Terry Schmidt told council June 6 that the proposed buildings “are set back into the site so the views [from existing stratas] are out over the top of the buildings… We’re allowed a 10.5-metre building on a flat site. All we’ve done is taken that building and shifted it down … to try to maintain a two-storey height along the road.”
He also said the project team has been working with the planning department to ensure the plan meets the zoning requirements and the design guidelines for the district’s steep slope development permit area.
Cathy Calder spoke on behalf of 115 residents who’ve signed a petition opposing the variances, telling councillors that the project will mean higher buildings and increased density and more traffic, block light and views and mean the removal of trees and vegetation used by wildlife.
“Buildings 5 and 6 will be the highest buildings on Porpoise Bay and they’re only 15 metres back from the water… I don’t think it presents a ‘friendly face’ to the neighbourhood,” she said, referencing a clause in the Official Community Plan (OCP).
The meeting became heated, briefly, when a second delegate speaking against the variance started using profanity to characterize the developer’s business practices, earning a sharp rebuke from Mayor Bruce Milne.
Council is awaiting a staff report on the final development permit for the project, which has already been to public hearing and been granted the necessary zoning and OCP amendments.
