Salmon Arm committee recommends moving forward on 420 unit residential building
The Salmon Arm Development and Services committee has voted in favour of moving a rezoning application for a proposed 420-unit multi-family development forward to council for approval.
The developer is asking for a zoning change to accommodate the high density residential development, planned for a site at Okanagan Avenue and 11th Street.
The property is currently split into three lots, which will be consolidated into a single property for the development of apartment buildings.
The proposal also comes with several 219 title covenants from the city, restricting the developer from getting a development permit until certain conditions are met. These conditions include completion of a traffic impact assessment, access from the property to the adjacent greenway trail, placement of a community storm pond and a small portion of land necessary for the city to complete upgrades to 3rd Avenue.
Challenges to developing the property include these conditions, as well as the steep topography of the land.
Another developer tried to construct townhouses on the property in 2020, but were unable to follow through on the conditions put forward by the city.
Representatives from Franklin Engineering attended the meeting to explain the preliminary development proposal to the committee.
The developer is planning to construct several five storey apartment buildings with underground parking. The proposed development would include up to 420 residential units.
One of the reasons efforts to develop on this property have failed in the past is due to problems with traffic going through the intersection of 11th Street and Okanagan Avenue.
“The issue is that 11th and Okanagan, the sight lines at that intersection are very poor. And so the new development plan or the proposed plan is to have the development exit onto Okanagan, further away from that intersection,” said Robert Niewenhuizen, the city's director of engineering.
“So the sight lines are better and then there's also the opportunity to funnel traffic down Third Avenue South East to 10th Street or into the community.”
Committee members support zoning change
Coun. Kevin Flynn supported the rezoning amendment, saying he believes in the importance of this particular property.
“And as I said right at the start, this is probably one of the most important pieces of property in our community for density, and it's also probably one of the most difficult, so I will vote in favour of the rezoning," Flynn said.
Coun. Sylvia Lindren said she was happy to see the zoning change to the higher density R-5, although she noted she had some concerns about the development.
“I would love to see trees retained if they can be, for there to be buffers between neighbouring properties and for there to be less ground covered with asphalt if possible,” she said.
“And the way to do that, of course, is what I've been advocating for in many of the developments is to build up instead of out.”
Lindgren said the R-5 zoning will allow the developer to build higher, which she believes is better for the community.
“I'm also going to vote in favor of moving this forward,” Lindgren said.
“I think that I'll have some significant concerns that I would like addressed or I’d like to investigate more as we get to the next stages of this development, but at this stage, I'm happy to forward it.”
This is one of the first development projects going in front of council members amid changes to the development process brought on through new provincial legislation.
Due to those changes, once council decides to give first reading to the zoning bylaw it will give notice to adjacent property owners but there will be no public hearing.
When council approves the first reading, it will have the option to also do second and third reading, which would pass the bylaw.
Coun. Tim Lavery expressed support for the zoning amendment, even though he didn’t support the previous development on the property. He said the last proposal requested an R-4 designation.
“R-4 is the wrong designation for this property. That's why our official community plan says R-5," he said.
Lavery noted the property is complex and "extremely expensive" to develop.
“It's extremely expensive for the owner and developers to make this work. You have to have density to make it work. I like what I see as far as the density goes.”
Mayor Allan Harrison said he believes the covenants will take care of most of council’s concerns about the development.
“I think the other piece I just want to talk about is our hillsides. ...55 per cent of this property is developable so that means 45 per cent is not, because it's too steep,” Harrison said.
He added this is "a good thing" for high buildings.
“Those high buildings are not going to be seen by the people that live above them," he said.
“So it's actually ideal. We would be making a mistake to go lower density in my opinion on this particular property, ideal for high density."
The motion to recommend the rezoning application to Salmon Arm council was passed unanimously.
The zoning amendment is expected to go in front of council again at its Feb. 26 council meeting.