It seems townhomes will replace the historic Gables house in a West Kelowna neighbourhood after all.
At its Jan. 9 regular meeting, applicant Steven Graham asked council to reconsider his original proposal after spending additional time addressing concerns about a lack of parking and density.
Graham wants to redevelop the property the more than 100 year old farm house sits on, at 2405 Bering Road, to build 14 affordable townhomes.
Having to redesign his proposal he said would compromise the project.
害羞草研究所淎ffordability was always one of our primary, if not attainable, we wanted affordable too. Basically for the 14 units, at the price point we害羞草研究所檙e proposing, working with CHMC害羞草研究所his is the best we can do.害羞草研究所�
Under the Official Community Plan (OCP) the land use designation for the area is intended for the development and redevelopment of higher density commercial uses and mixed-use buildings.
Some councillors felt Graham害羞草研究所檚 development did not meet those criteria when he first presented to them it in Nov. 2023.
However, the application has been in-stream since 2021 before the OCP was adopted in Sept. 2023.
Mayor Gord Milsom was in favour of the project from the beginning.
害羞草研究所淲e need this type of housing,害羞草研究所� he added. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e doing the best with the land that they have.害羞草研究所�
The townhomes will be purpose built rentals for a period of at least ten years.
To address the requested reduction in parking stalls, Graham said he is looking at car share program where he would purchase a vehicle that would be used only by residents of the complex.
Coun. Stephen Johnston suggested that to avoid situations such as this in the future, height minimums might be considered in some areas of the city.
害羞草研究所淛ust so we can protect density because that害羞草研究所檚 what we need in these town centres. I don害羞草研究所檛 believe this lives up to it but I do honour the fact that it was started well before the OCP came into play.害羞草研究所�
Council voted unanimously to move the project forward, including a variance to reduce the required number of standard parking spaces from 17 to 15.
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