New Westminster city council isn't quite ready to consider a development proposal for a property in Queensborough.
The city has received an application to rezone 702 Salter St. to allow a 65-unit residential development. In addition to 63 town homes, two units would be included in the Emery property's 1912 house, which would be retained through a heritage revitalization agreement.
The City of New Westminster has also received an application to develop the adjacent property at 620 Salter St.
On. Dec. 10, council received two reports from the city's director of development services - one that dealt with the rezoning application for 702 Salter St. and another that dealt with the official community plan amendment for both properties.
"The intent of the Queensborough official community plan was to see this area developed with multi-family housing," stated a staff report. "The community is currently considering the future of the Queensborough community plan. All of the land-use proposals reviewed by the community and council have shown these proper-ties designated for residential development at medium density."
Council moved forward with the official community plan bylaw amendment for 620 Salter St., but tabled the report about the proposed rezoning of 702 Salter St. to a future council meeting. It also asked that the bylaw amendment for 702 Salter St. be brought back for its consideration at the completion of the Queensborough community plan.
A staff report noted that both sites have inconsistencies between the land-use designation and the development permit area designation in the official community plan. The report notes that the exact land-use designation of the parcels in the existing Queensborough community plan is in "cartoon form rather than parcel based" so it's difficult to determine the exact land use of the parcels in the plan.
Jim Hurst, a development planner with the city, said the community plan that was developed in the 1990s reflected the way plans were done at that time. He said there are fewer inconsistencies with the property at 620 Salter St. so council felt comfortable moving forward with the public process for that site.
"It was conceptual," he said about community plan developed in the 1990s. "It was meant to be a bit looser, but it posed these problems."
While some councillors felt it was better to wait until the Queensborough community plan process had concluded to deal with the proposal for 702 Salter St., Coun. Betty McIntosh opposed tabling the application, as she doesn't believe this is the way a city should do business. McIntosh felt comfortable continuing with the public process.
"We, as a council, have been the ones who have not been expediting the process," she said of the official community plan update for Queensborough. "New Westminster gets a poor reputation with developers by doing this."
McIntosh said the application should come as no surprise to council as it's been in the works for some time. She noted that the city's community heritage commission had already considered the matter and recommended the heritage house on the property at 702 Salter St. be retained.
