Kimberley City Council has voted to proceed with a variance on parking at the proposed townhouse development at 580 Mark Street, with a few minor changes.
The original motion was put forth at a Regular Council Meeting on Monday, May 28, 2018, however Council voted to defer the motion due to the fact that three letters from residents were added to the agenda as late items. Councillor Albert Hoglund suggested that Council didn’t have time to take the letters into consideration.
The letters were from concerned residents who live in the area, most of them stating that parking is already an issue and could become worse once the complex is built. They mentioned events at McKim, snow removal, the fact that the property is within two school zones, speed limits, and the number of vehicles per family/unit.
Tyee homes has proposed the 16-unit multi-family development, and requested a variance on parking to allow for 24 off-street parking spaces. Parking regulations state that 32 off-street spaces (two per unit) would be required for a development of this size.
At a special meeting of Council on Wednesday, May 30, Council took the three letters into consideration, resulting in the addition of four parking spots, creating 28 total. The variance, with four added spots, was unanimously approved.
Manager of Planning Services Troy Pollock says that between Monday and Wednesday’s meetings, staff was able to address the concerns of residents and work with the proponent to revise the site plan.
“There won’t be any change to the buildings or the plan in that regard. Essentially the two units facing Knighton Road will be separated to create more space and four more surface stalls will be added; one on either side of the building,” explained Pollock.
Mayor Don McCormick says that there was discussion about traffic patterns and a few ideas going forward.
“There is only so much about the future that we can speculate,” McCormick said via email. “Given this is our first multi-unit residential project since 2010, we need to be flexible and adapt as we move forward. There will be much more multi-unit residential building as people look for more affordable ownership and affordable rent, particularly in the downtown area.”
Not only that, but past City planning makes it hard for future development.
“That corner - where Knighton and Ross Street meet - is like several in Kimberley, a carryover from the past that is very difficult to work with. We cannot do major surgery but will make a few subtle adjustments to minimize the effects of the increase in traffic,” the Mayor explained.
He added that the City and Council are “very excited about this Tyee project”.