The City of New Westminster isn’t ready to give its blessing to a proposed redevelopment at Holy Trinity Cathedral.
The church has applied for a heritage revitalization agreement, an amendment to the official community plan and a special development permit for 514 Carnarvon St. so it can restore the cathedral in exchange for the construction of a new highrise on the property. The 28-storey highrise would include 373 residential units, a five-level parkade and space for parish uses such as storage, banquet space and offices.
According to a staff report, the applicants are seeking to build some bachelor units that are 268 square feet, which is smaller than the city’s 350 square feet minimum size. They’re also seeking a reduction in off-street parking and a reduction in long-term bicycle parking.
Council approved a recommendation directing staff to inform the applicant that it would not review the application until the plan is changed to remove units smaller than 350 square feet, to provide parking that meets the requirements of the downtown parking study and to offer sufficient long-term and short-term bicycle parking. Council also directed staff to work with the applicant to reduce the scale of the tower to better fit with the heritage context and intent of the official community plan’s land-use designation for this site.
Julie Schueck, the city’s heritage and community planner, said staff is concerned about the height of the proposed tower next to the cathedral. A cathedral has been located on this site since 1859, with the existing cathedral being built between 1899 and 1902.
