Park Avenue Hotel proposal back to Council tonight

The prospect of a new hotel development for Park Avenue is 
back on the agenda for City Council tonight

The proponents of a proposed Traveller Accommodation will be making a presentation tonight at Prince Rupert City Council, with all signs pointing towards some forward momentum for the project that has been caught up in zoning changes with the adoption of the new Official Community Plan.

The hotel which has been proposed for a site just east of the Park Avenue Corner Store will make for two segments of tonight's Council Session.

The first coming with the presentation to Council at the start of Monday's Regular Council session, followed up by Council's review and consideration for a zoning request to allow for the project to move on to the next stage of the application process.

That second part of the evening will find the city council members reviewing an extensive report from the Hotel planning group, which includes a number of revisions to the original design, some scaled back elements towards the accommodation options and parking requirements, as well as lengthy list of community members in the nearby area who offer their support for the proposed venture.

The report outlines the scope of those consultations with the neighbours as well as some of the other steps the group took following feedback from city staff on their proposal.

A Public Information Package was prepared for delivery to residents and businesses within a 100m radius of the site (provided by Administration). This package included a memo explaining the project, relevant maps, our hotel plans, and contact details for the applicant (B&A) and landowner (Parm Sandhu).  

The Public Information Package was personally delivered by Parm and his wife Baljeet on May 29 to each of the 36 homes and businesses identified by Administration. They stopped to discuss the proposal with anyone who wished to chat further and answered any questions. They received an overwhelmingly positive response at the doors. 

The application notice sign was installed on the property on May 29 in accordance with the “Development Procedures Bylaw” requirements. • A form letter of support was prepared and provided to area residents to sign should they wish to do so.  

Parm further discussed the proposal with local businesses in order to determine their support for the project.  

All responses received were recorded within our Consultation Tracking spreadsheet. 

 This Public Consultation Report has been prepared and provided to the City.

The city's contract planners from iPlan have also provided some guidance for Council on the topic, with Chris Buchan noting of the history of the proposed development from prior to the adoption of the new Official Community Plan.

With the adoption of the new OCP, developments such as the hotel plan would no longer be allowed in the Park Avenue area, tonight's recommendation comes with a suggestion for a covenant on the land to ensure that the scope of the project does not stray from the accommodation listing and only for this proposal.

Mr. Buchan also identifies some potential areas for further change for the application before the proposal could potentially go towards Public Hearing.

You can review the full report, including the volume of community support letters from the City's Agenda Package.

For more notes related to tonight's Council Session see our Preview here.

A wider overview of past Council discussion themes is available here.