Council discussed a bit of an unusual variance to a zoning bylaw at their regular meeting on Monday, March 14, 2022.
The request came from the owner of a commercial building at 253 Wallinger Ave. (the former Chamber office) who is requesting a zoning change to allow for ground floor tourist accommodation. Currently zoning only allows for tourist accommodation on the second and third floors in the Platzl.
“The building is comprised of several commercial units, most of which front onto Wallinger Avenue, says a report to council from the planning department. “The proponent tried to rent the subject unit to a commercial tenant in 2020 without success, and as a result, decided to renovate its interior and convert it into tourist accommodation.”
A building permit was issued for the renovation, although there was some miscommunication on what the intended use of the space was.
The planning department does have some concerns about allowing the variance.
“The diversity of permissible uses and their location within a building is specifically designed to generate an active streetscape and vibrant downtown. Commercial spaces attract people throughout the day, creating lively streets that in turn support adjacent businesses that rely on walk in traffic. Allowing tourist accommodation in a commercial frontage could potentially create the perception of a void storefront in an area with high levels of pedestrian activity.”
However, the report also noted that the owner had tried repeatedly to find a commercial tenant and had not been successful.
Coun. Jason McBain said the concept was odd to him. “I don’t know why someone would want to rent a main floor unit on a busy street,” he said.
The proponent, who had called into the meetings, said yes, it was odd, but it’s a bit of an odd space.
The report also explained that there were plans to make sure it doesn’t look like an empty storefront.
“The unit currently has curtains drawn over the windows to create privacy and obscure site lines from the street. The overall effect of this mimics a blank wall. To create greater visual interest along the street, and ensure privacy screening for occupants, the applicant is proposing to frost the glass up to 1.8m from the base of the window, and to potentially add a vinyl trail map to the window. The applicant is also proposing to provide a bike repair station or secure bike parking to be installed nearby and made available for general public use.”
The next step is for council to issue notice to neighbours of the intended usage change.
carolyn.grant@kimberleybulletin.com
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