It was a packed house at Municipal Hall chambers for the public hearing on the rezoning for the proposed Breeze Townhouse development at a council special meeting held Tuesday night.
The mixed-use development on three acres would include 60, 14 metre-high townhouse units, 12 apartment units, eight live-work units and 224 square metres of commercial space.
Of the roughly 10 people who spoke at the public hearing, eight opposed the density of the Target Homes proposal on Government Road in the North Yards.
Michael Lyons, who lives in the area, encapsulated the various points of the other speakers. He said he didn’t oppose development on the property, but questioned the number of units proposed.
“It really comes down to… the overall size and scope of the project in terms of how it impacts the neighbourhood,” he said. “We are asked to accept 60 townhouses, plus 20 more additional living spaces, plus commercial, all basically… shoehorned into an area the same size of our development, which has 36 units on it. That is a considerable difference in terms of what is proposed to go in here.”
The quality of life for people in the area will decrease if people are “jammed” together, Lyons added. Lyons and others also spoke to concerns over parking and traffic in the North Yards, which he said is already becoming congested.
Two residents spoke in favour of the proposal including developer Doug Day, who said it is a misconception that developers are greedy “fat cats.”
“From an economic point of view, it is really hard to make projects work, and Squamish real estate is getting way too expensive,” he said. “So if we are going to maintain Squamish as a livable, affordable community, we really do have to densify these infill sites.”
The developer has proposed $572,000 in cash as a community amenity contribution.
First and second readings for the proposal passed council April 5. On Tuesday, council deferred making a decision on a third reading for the project.
**Please note, the image attached to this story has been changed since it was first posted to more accurately represent the development.
