Sapperton residents are concerned about changes being proposed to the Brewery District development.
An 18-storey highrise containing 137 residential units is the latest building being considered for construction in the Brewery District. Wesgroup Properties has applied for a development permit to build the tower at 200 Nelson’s Cres. as part of the next phase of the Sapperton development.
Kevin Little, a director with the McBride-Sapperton Residents’ Association, said the proposal got an “incredibly negative” reaction at the group’s recent meeting.
“Our association voted unanimously against what they are proposing,” he told The Record.
Although residents didn’t like the idea of a 28- or 30-storey tower at the site during the rezoning application, they’re now concerned about a wall of towers at the Sapperton site. Residents fear the site could now contain several highrises because of the density transfers.
“I was really taken aback at how the comprehensive plan is now out the window,” Little said.
New Westminster city council has directed staff to process the application and bring it forward for council’s consideration of a development permit when the review is complete. As part of the application process, the developer must hold a public meeting and the city’s design panel must review the site development and architectural design of the project.
The 18-storey highrise would be located on a triangular shaped property at the south end of the Brewery District that has always been envisioned as the site of a tower.
In 2007, New Westminster city council approved a rezoning of the former Labatt brewery site to allow a mixed-use development. When approving the rezoning application, council warned the developer that a 28-storey highrise may be too tall for the neighbourhood.
During the rezoning application’s public process, some residents voiced concerns that a 28-storey building would tower above the neighbourhood. The city agreed to allow density to be transferred among buildings at the site as a way of addressing community concerns about the height of the highrise.
Jackie Teed, the city’s manager of planning, told council Sept. 29 that four residential towers are being proposed. Density from the building on the most western end of the site (where the controversial highrise was to be located) can be transferred to the other buildings, with none being more than 18 storeys.
When the city rezoned the site, it provided flexibility in zoning in exchange for a phasing system that allowed some buildings containing heath-care and retail (including a grocery store) uses to be built before high-density residential development.
The McBride-Sapperton Residents’ Association is writing to the city to voice its concerns about the development.
