The public will soon have a chance to weigh in on plans for a 61-unit townhouse complex that would complete the long-abandoned Aqua development on Main Street, adjacent to the Squamish Estuary.
Second reading of a zoning amendment bylaw for the development passed council on Tuesday night, and a public hearing has been scheduled for June 21.
Should it go ahead, the project would consist of two- and three-bedroom townhomes of various sizes.
The Aqua development was originally approved in 2007 and 35 townhomes and 82 apartments were built before the project went into foreclosure during the 2008 recession. The foundation for the apartment building and a parkade has remained unfinished since that time. The new development company, SVR Investments, asked to decrease density and instead build an all-townhouse complex.
A pond that was part of the original development has become a problem in the intervening years as residents complained of the pond’s odor, according to district staff.
“The original intent of this was to create a tidal wetland with improved water quality, improved fish access and increased storm water storage capacity,” said municipal engineer David Roulston. “The design then changed and the pond was deepened by about five feet and that created a pond instead of a wetland.”
The issues with the pond are water quality, oil and sediment getting into the pond and that trapped water within it heats up in summer, which is harmful to aquatic life and creates smells, according to the district.
To fix the pond would take hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Roulston.
Councillor Doug Race supported second reading for the project but commented that there’s an opportunity for the pond to be dealt with during this final phase.
“It’s not just an eyesore – it smells and may be a health hazard. It is certainly not friendly to the environment by any stretch of the imagination,” Race said. “Whether we look at it as allocation of community amenity contributions or whether we look at it as just a construction defect that this particular developer has inherited a portion of… I will leave that to staff to sort through… I would like to see this remedied now or in the future, and I would like to see the developer making a contribution to that.”
The developer is currently offering $170,000, of which 75 per cent is proposed to be allocated to affordable housing, 20 per cent to general amenities and five per cent in cash toward a childcare centre. An onsite recreation centre promised with the original development will also be completed and funds for needed district lift station improvements would be provided.
The public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Municipal Hall in council chambers on June 21.
