A new four-storey residential building will rise on the Mamquam Blind Channel, more than seven years after it was first proposed.
Squamish council voted Tuesday (Sept. 16) to issue a development permit to Mireau Property Developments Ltd. to build The Mireau, a 52-unit residential mixed use project on the corner of Winnipeg Street and Loggers Lane.
The land, which was formerly industrial waterfront, had been rezoned in 2007 for a previous project by Westmana Developments, but due to market conditions and financial circumstances, the project went into receivership and was never built.
The resurrected project is very similar to the 2007 version, with 51 residential units of between 770 and 1,200 square feet each along with one 900-square-foot commercial space, with enclosed parking on the ground.
The project will also include a sea dike which will incorporate a public waterfront walkway with separate bike and pedestrian lanes, as well as a public plaza facing the channel.
The project will have 61 parking stalls, five less than district guidelines for the property, but staff recommended approval of the plan as presented based on the community amenities provided.
The previous project proponents had also made a significant community contribution, providing $185,000 to the Howe Sound Women’s Centre, whose building had been on the property, to purchase a building and renovate it for their use.
Council voted unanimously to approve the development.
“It’s an attractive development,” said Coun. Doug Race. “I’m looking forward to seeing it come to fruition.”
“I was pretty excited when it came up in 2007,” said Coun. Patricia Heintzman.” “It’s going to be such a catalyst for downtown.”
Call for wards ignored
A local resident asked council to consider moving to a ward system for the next election.
Jamies Gracie wrote to council appealing for neighbourhood-based representation, an option local municipalities may use for selecting councillors.
“Councillors are no longer in close touch with all the neighbourhoods and this gap will widen as our population increases,” Gracie wrote. “None of our nieghbourhoods has a specific councillro to access. As a result, almost all suggestions and complaints go directly to municipal staff…this is contrary to the very base principle of an elected democracy.”
Gracie asked council to implement the system in time for this November’s municipal election, but councillors chose instead to receive the letter for information rather than take action on it.
“In my opinion we simply don’t have a large enough population to warrant that transition at this point,” said Coun. Patricia Heintzman.
“Well, it was a really nice hand-written letter,” said acting mayor Ted Prior, adding “I like the idea of a councilor being given a neighbourhood to look after.”
“We’re all responsible for all neighbourhoods,” Heintzman replied.
Currently the District of Lake Country in the Okanagan is the only municipality in B.C. to have a ward system.
Brackendale lot change to public hearing
Council overrode a recommendation from staff and voted to send a proposed change to the Official Community Plan (OCP) for a lot in Brackendale to a public hearing.
Nicolaas Westeinde had applied to change the land use designation of his property at 1000 Laramee Road from Greenway Corridors and Recreation to Residential and to remove the developed portion of the property from Development Permit Area 1 (DPA1), which places restrictions on development.
The 5.2-hectare lot adjoining the Squamish River has a house and private horse training and breeding operation on it.
The property had been designated as residential until the 1998 OCP, when it was changed to greenways, without any rationale or notice to the public, according to Westeinde.
District staff supported the removal of the developed lot from DPA1 but opposed the land use change based on concerns about flood management, which they said triggered the change in the 1998 OCP.
Westeinde, in a delegation to council, complained that staff was working from “30-year-old, obselete data” and that other residential developments had been approved in the same area.
“I’ll apologize for the district for the difficulties you’ve had,” said acting mayor Ted Prior. “There are so many grey areas in the OCP…I wish you had brought your concerns to the Economic Development Committee so we could have done something.”
Coun. Ron Sander moved first and second reading of the land use change, triggering a public hearing, which passed with Coun. Doug Race opposed.
“An OCP is a vision document and this development is not consistent with my vision for that area,” Race said.
New interim planner developer
The District of Squamish has a new interim director of planning.
Gerard LeBlance was director of development services in Sooke before retiring, then coming out of retirement to take the interim position here in Squamish. He has more than two decades of experience as a planner on Vancouver Island and the upper and lower Sunshine Coast working with a variety of municipalities, regional governments and First Nations.
Mental health aid requested
Christine Buttkus of the Sea to Sky Innovations in Mental Health Project addressed council looking for help to raise awareness.
“There’s a major cost to a lack of mental health in the community,” Buttkus said.
The Mental Health Partnership table formed in Squamish two and a half years ago in response to a crisis situation emerging in the community, Buttkus said. The group meets monthly and is moving towards developing a mental health plan for the Sea to Sky corridor.
“We hope that elected officials will be joining us to learn as well and participate in the dialogue,” said Buttkus, asking for District representation to co-ordinate and host their upcoming event Dec. 8.
“We need more people to get involved,” said Buttkus. “It needs to be something the community is engaging in.”
Coun. Patricia Heintzman asked if staff could put information about mental health on the District website and upcoming newsletters, which CAO Corien Speaker confirmed.
$133K for HVAC at Forestry
Council unanimously approved spending $133,513.62 to replace the heating, ventilation and air cooling (HVAC) system at the Forestry building on Loggers Lane.
The project was budgeted in the 2014 capital budget for $132,181, but the bid plus design, construction administration and controls programming will lead to a deficit of $32,275.55. Council voted to fund the deficit from the Forestry Building Reserve Fund.
Construction is to start in early November and be finished in the same month.
