The proposed housing plan for a property adjacent to the Prince Rupert Middle School on Ninth Avenue West made for much of the focus for Council on Monday evening.
With the topic the subject of a near fifteen minute Public Hearing at 6PM, followed by council discussion to the subject as part of their Regular Council Agenda.
The Public Hearing portion of the evening brought a number of residents to the City Hall Chamber, some of them from the neighbourhood in attendance to back up a petition in opposition to the scale and scope of the housing plan for their area.
The presentation portion of the Hearing began with review of the current status of the development from City of Prince Rupert Planning Director Myfannwy Pope, she reviewed many of the elements from the original report on the development form the last council session.
(The report can be reviewed from our notes of May 23rd)
Next came a statement from School Board trustee James Horne representing the Board of Trustees from SD52 for the evening.
"We are proposing a building to be built. So in the spirit of transparency, we would like to remind everybody that we are building a school in the immediate vicinity.
It's at least 120 feet high, that will have at least 400 students. That will have, because of that it will have traffic to get the students in and out of the school which will travel beyond where this thing is going to be built that you guys are talking about.
And that it will have lots of noise from the students and lots of like bells to inform the students of what's going on in the area, that's the total of my statement". -- James Horne, Board of Trustees SD52
The remainder of the public hearing was turned over to the gallery, with a few of the residents from the area speaking to their concerns over the size of the building and the additional traffic that it will bring to the area.
One participant, Mary Allen noted of the shadow that the housing would bring to the area and of some of the city's other land holdings that may be better suited to housing.
"I would also like to say that the City has other property that we feel would better suit a high density housing development like that and you could build in the traffic patterns
Jeff Brown, a representative of North Star Development the proponents for the building, provided some background towards their plans.
"The stage that we are at right now is the rezoning stage, so unfortunately we haven't shared very many details of this particular budding because the details haven't been developed yet.
At the Development Permit stage we'll be going through elevations of the building, we'll be conducing a shadow study of the building so that we understand where those shadows would fall throughout the year and perhaps that may alleviate some concerns.
At the Development Permit stage we look forward to working with city staff and the City and ensuring that we provide details of the proposed building such that everybody feels comfortable with what is proposed for there and has clear understanding of what the building will look and feel like an dhow it will operate."
Mr. Brown also noted of their work towards mitigating any traffic issues and any parking concerns. He also outlined how the company is very happy to be working in Prince Rupert and is looking forward to working on the project.
Corporate Administer Rosa Miller provided an update on the petition count, noting of thirty one signatures and four letters of concern and in opposition delivered to City Hall.
Included in the delegation from the neighbourhood was Kate Toye who is chair of the Board of Trustees at SD52, however on the night she was participating solely as a member of the community.
" I'm not representing the Board here, I'm speaking as myself. I think there's a lot of places in Prince Rupert where we look around and think what we're they thinking. I think that once a thing is constructed it's too late to turn back the time.
I've had kids in the public school system I don't know how comfortable I would be with a building built right beside the playground as well as the school.
I think you are very thoughtful people, I think that you know you are making decisions that will last generations"
Ms. Toye also called attention to the traffic concerns express previously, recommending that council members visit the area during the high profile traffic periods of the day, noting of the congestion and the dangers that are in place.
She also suggested that another site might be a better option for Council.
"I know we need housing in Prince Rupert, I 100 percent know that, I think there are other spaces that could serve community better"
The topic returned briefly to the public forum in the Regular Council session during the public comment period, though it was a short lived interjection by Terry Sawka, one which the City Manager advised had to be closed owing to the fact the Public Hearing had taken place and Council members cannot discuss the topic until after a decision on the zoning had been made.
"Mr. Sawka cannot speak to Council as the public hearing is closed ... Council cannot address this matter with the public anybody else until it's made a final decision on the bylaw and that we can't give a timeline on"
That advisory and some further guidance to the topic from Councillor Adey and the City Manager left Mr. Sawka speaking towards a need for more transparency from Council and staff.
When Council did get to the topic of the rezoning request later in the evening, the council quest to deliver more housing in the community was the over-riding theme for the commentary.
Among some of the six contributions to the night
"Our community screams for housing, you know we know that we need it, in every which way shape and form.
You know It's the same thing every time, you get usually people that live in the local areas nearby, are usually opposed and it's understandable it's a big change to your neighbourhood and you know people struggle with big changes like that.
If they're able to satisfy all the requirements that are needed for parking and traffic and all of those things then Im supportive of it." -- Councillor Wade Niesh
"All we're doing right now is just rezoning the property, if the variances and everything come later that's when the public can actually have their say and that. There's gonna be quite a bit of conversation about this it's an interesting project we need the housing ... I know traffic could be a big problem but that will all be part of the development variance" -- Councillor Barry Cunningham
Councillor Adey noted that he was confused on some of the elements on the night, noting of the concern from the public towards the development, seeking some guidance from the City Manager Robert Buchan on the process ahead for the proposal.
"If we approve this zoning change, at what point then is Council going to be participating in a decision based on people's views of the development itself"
Mr. Buchan clarified for the Councillors how the situation regarding the proposal would evolve.
"With respect to commenting on the development specifically, Council has delegated all development permits to Staff, Development Variance Permits go to the Council"
The City Manager also observed to the land area in question and Council's recent work on housing.
"It's a modest sized housing development, and as Council has been working hard through its Housing Action Plan and Strategy to encourage some new housing.
I think if this gets off in a way this year like they are hoping to, this will be if not the first one of the first new housing projects in Prince Rupert in a very long time"
Councillors Forster, Randhawa and Skelton Morven also spoke for the need for new housing, though Ms. Forster did note that there may be a need for council to review how they move through the process on housing consultation in the community.
Mayor Pond offered up a correction for Ms. Forster and an observation on the topic at hand that eventually led into the voting process on the bylaw.
"I just want to correct Councillor Forster, this is actually a rezoning bylaw, so we're changing the zoning on that property ... you're correct it comes with a height restriction that's lower than what the new zoning would normally allow.
But technically speaking, I think we have to be aware that if you approve the zoning change and if the developer brings a project forward that requires no new variances, this could be the approval that allows them to go ahead with the project.
And I'll just tell you, that while I appreciate the concern of the neighbours in that neighbourhood, my experience has been that every project in every neighbourhood has concerns and I expect that staff working with the developer will be able to overcome them.
We desperately need the housing and so I'm certainly voting in favour of the bylaw rezoning"
Once everyone had opportunity to comment, Council then provided third reading for the zoning bylaw.
A wider overview of some of the discussion on the 9th West property can be reviewed from our Council Timeline.
The Discussion of the topic comes at the 1:11:00 mark of the City's Video archive, Mr. Sawka's short lived commentary can be reviewed at the 30 minute point in the evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment