An apartment building in the Brow of the Hill neighbourhoods hopes to replace parking with places for people to live.
The city has received housing agreement and development variance permit applications to allow the owner of a 55-unit residential rental building at 322 Seventh St. to replace nine existing parking spaces with five new studio residential units. The units would range in size from 352- to 388-square- feet.
“The units would be added within the existing at-grade parking area. Front door access would be provided from an at-grade patio area with a guardrail, designed to buffer the unit entry from the existing drive aisle,” said a staff report to council. “Given that these units would be directly adjacent to a vehicular drive aisle, staff will be undertaking further work with the applicant at the development permit stage to ensure that these units can be safely accessed. This may include the provision of additional buffer space between the units and drive aisle, pavement markings, barriers, and signage.”
On May 17, council gave notice that it would consider issuance of a development variance permit to reduce the number of required off-street parking spaces by 36% from what would be required under zoning bylaw requirements. If approved, the building would have 42 parking spaces, instead of the 51 now provided.
Council also endorsed a staff recommendation to include six bicycle spaces as part of the development variance permit application, if it’s approved by council.
According to a staff report, the applicant has agreed to ensure that all 60 units in the 1969 building will remain as market rental for 60 years or for the life of the building, whichever is longer. This would be secured through a housing agreement between the city and the building’s owner.
A May 17 report to council included two staff recommendations related to the housing agreement, but staff asked that they be removed from the agenda and considered at a later meeting.
“Staff need to undertake further work on the housing agreement bylaw and rectify some wording with the applicant, but the development variance permit items still can be considered tonight,” explained Emilie Adin, the city’s director of development services. “The staff report doesn’t have any inaccuracies. The housing bylaw will be brought forward to council at a future meeting. Issuance of the DVP (development variance permit) will be conditional on the housing agreement being finalized first.”
Coun. Marry Trentadue questioned why a housing agreement is required, if the building is already 100% rental.
Staff said the apartment is currently a rental building but it’s not a secured rental building, so the city’s practice is to ensure it remains rental through a housing agreement.
“It is currently a rental building; it’s just not a secured rental building, so we don’t have any protection over the existing rental units,” said Athena von Hausen, development planner.
In addition to the five proposed units, the building added two suites in the basement in 2019, noted the staff report.
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Email tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
