A proposal for a significant development at Hunter Place has received third reading, meaning the project has passed the biggest hurdle to rezoning.
On March 1, a public hearing was held in council chambers, where some residents expressed concerns.
Afterwards, council deliberated on the matter and then voted unanimously in favour of giving third reading to a rezoning application for 1100, 1120, and 1140 Hunter Place, just behind Nesters Market.
The proponent, Hunter Place Developments, which is spearheaded by Paul and Mike Bosa, is separate from Bosa Properties and is not part of the Bosa development family.
At stake is a proposal to change a split-zoned C-4 and I-1 commercial and light industrial land into a CD-99, or comprehensive development zone.
Should the proposed rezoning become a reality, it would make way for the creation of a five-building complex — each building at six storeys — that would include a mix of condo units and employment space for the area.
There would be 5,895 square metres — 63,461 square feet — of commercial floor space.
It would be accompanied by 274 residential parking spaces and 121 commercial parking spots. Finally, there would be close to 600 bike parking spaces.
During the meeting, only a handful of people spoke either in person or remotely via phone or webconference.
One was a property owner at the east end of Pemberton Avenue.
Allan Barr, whose business is in that area, said he was concerned with how the development would interface with neighbouring properties on Pemberton Avenue.
Barr said it was difficult for vehicles as large as a pickup truck to make a turnaround at the end of that road.
"Commercial transport vehicles come down…and they don't get to know they're in trouble until they get up and over the tracks," said Barr. "And then they realize, 'Oh my gosh, what are we gonna do now?' and they can't back up."
He said those vehicles then wind up needing help turning around, and this can result in blockages that can last an hour.
"It just takes one person to shut that whole community down; the whole neighborhood shuts down with that," Barr said.
He asked that a condition of third reading should include the condition of a connector between Hunter Place and Pemberton Avenue.
Peter Gordon of Cascadia Consulting spoke about the problems highlighted by Barr. He also advocated for a connection between the two streets.
"We don't intend to stand in the way of the development or stymie it in any way. But we feel that we need to be a part [of] the [land development agreement] process," Gordon said.
He referenced a written submission that he sent to council, which called for the land development agreement to require the proponent to grant the District of 樱桃视频a registered two鈥恮ay public access road right of way over their land from Hunter Place to Pemberton Avenue.
Gordon's written submission also asked that the agreement include a requirement for the developer to ensure there is continuous unimpeded vehicular access for other landowners on Pemberton Avenue during construction, among other things.
However, in a staff report, municipal bureaucrats said that a new road connecting Hunter Place and Pemberton Avenue was not needed.
"The Hunter Place development can be designed to mitigate its impact on Pemberton Avenue by ensuring that all three phases of development can access and egress from Hunter Place exclusively," reads the report. "Staff is confident that this development will not drive the need for an alternative connection. Any consideration of an alternative access is outside of the scope of this application and would require council defeat of this rezoning and negotiate a land acquisition to pursue an alternative connection."
Another speaker at the hearing questioned why the proposed daycare was being pushed all the way to the later phases of construction.
He noted it would take years for parents who moved after completion of the first phase to have childcare in that area.
Staff and council said that pushing the childcare facility to later stretches of the development's phasing would allow for the creation of a childcare centre that is three times the size of what's required by the Community Care Act.
There were also 16 pages of written correspondence regarding the project attached to council's agenda, with a number of writers expressing concern about how the development would affect the area.
One submission, from Bob Brant, asked that no approvals for any of these lot projects be given until a District-wide traffic master plan is completed.
Not all feedback expressed concerns, however.
One submission, from Bruce Jung, spoke in favour of the development.
"I live in 樱桃视频and commute from my house in the Highlands to Vancouver for work," he wrote. "I want to show my support as a local resident for this project. I commute to Vancouver to support my family because there is just a lack of office space here in our community. I see so many benefits to our local economy, less commuting and time with my own family if there was more office space available for small business owners like myself."
All members of council expressed support for the project.
Coun. Eric Andersen voted in favour of the project, but noted the municipality should pay attention to Barr's comments.
"I'm for some language or conditions, provisions, in the servicing agreement to address the construction management issues that will arise with respect to access for the neighbours," said Andersen. "And I'm confident that staff has heard this issue, but we do need some security here and perhaps some language can be devised in that servicing agreement."
Coun. Chris Pettingill said he was particularly pleased about the no-gas covenant, which he said would help address climate change.
Support was also given by Coun. John French, who praised how co-operative the developer has been during the process.
"It provides us with another much-needed daycare space along with a few more housing units that will be priced appropriately for early childhood educators and for those in entry-level jobs," said French. "It also furthers the objective of making the downtown area walkable and bike-friendly."
Mayor Karen Elliott also supported the project, but took note of the challenges being faced by the neighbouring properties.
"I am mindful that we potentially have signage and some work to potentially deal with the neighbour to the east on the encroachment issues in the short term," said Elliott.
"There's no reason we couldn't go down there and see what we can do to ameliorate that situation."
