One of the principals of 3 Dogs Brewing Co. said maximizing use of its new space in the second phase of Bosa’s Miramar Village is ‘critical’ for the company’s continued presence in White Rock.
Scott Keddy’s comment came during the June 7 public hearing on the brew-pub’s application to amend the maximum floor area allowable under the existing CD-16 zoning.
Third and final reading of the amendment to the zoning bylaw was passed unanimously by council at its June 14 regular meeting.
It allows 3 Dogs to construct an intermediary, mezzanine floor inside the new location; creating space that would provide enough room for an additional 46 seats inside the pub lounge, on top of 46 seats on the main floor and a further 30 seats on an outdoor patio, for a total of 122.
Keddy – who noted a sign-up petition circulated to patrons had produced some 2,200 signatures in support of the mezzanine – said this would “give us the additional seating which would be comparable to our current location.”
“It’s important for us to be able to use every square inch of the space we’re moving into,” he said.
“Because it’s a new building, rents are going up, so if we want to have the new space, and stay in White Rock, it’s really critical we maximize the space we have available, and this mezzanine would certainly allow us to do that.”
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Public opinion appeared to be split on the proposed mezzanine at the time of the public hearing. While pre-submissions by residents for the public hearing seemed fairly evenly split, in favour and against, phone-in submissions received later in the day showed opposition running at 2-1.
Making it harder to judge, there were no takers from residents when it came to making comments to the public hearing itself, which was adjourned after less than 20 minutes.
Before the hearing, corporate administration director Tracey Arthur said that, while written submissions received by staff showed 10 residents in favour and five against, phone comments received during the day were 11 against and five in favour.
In total, 18 residents rejected the amendment, to 15 who supported it.
Planning and development services director Carl Isaak told council the amendment actually exempts up to 100 metres of mezzanine floor space from the CD-16 floor area specifications, while 3 Dogs is requesting only 89 square metres.
“This gives some wriggle-room if there are changes,” he commented.
He also noted that there are 291 parking spaces for commercial and community uses on the site, which exceeds the CD-16 requirement of 226.
3 Dogs still has several other hurdles to overcome for its new premises. It must also apply for a manufacturer’s licence for onsite production – over which the city does not have approval responsibility – and also a lounge endorsement from the provincial Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, which provides the opportunity for written responses to be submitted to city staff before results are forwarded to the LCRB.
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