Will there be a new commercial development, with possibly a car dealership, at the intersection of the Trans Canada Highway and Herd Road?
North Cowichan council voted following a public hearing Nov. 16 to rezone to C3 (commercial service zone) an eight-acre property on the northeast corner of that intersection but not before they talked around the subject.
Kyle Young, North Cowichan’s assistant manager of planning and subdivision, gave some background on the application for rezoning, which had received first reading from council Sept. 21. At that time, council asked for a report on possible prohibited or restricted uses for the property.
After meeting with the developer, it was decided that prohibitions would include: accessory dwelling unit, bed and breakfast, home-based business, night club and single family dwelling. By November, council had passed second reading of the rezoning, including a restrictive covenant to include those restrictions.
When they discussed the subject Nov. 16, councillors were still interested in the possibility that a car dealership might go in there and how many of the six proposed lots might be taken up by such an operation, although a spokesperson for the developer said all talks are at a preliminary stage.
Coun. Maeve Maguire expressed concern that North Cowichan already has a lot of commercial sites, and was concerned that the information given council only included how much was given over to specifically the C3 designation.
“Why are we not looking at all commercial zones?” she asked, and was still asking it when the subject finally came to a vote.
Scott Mack said C3 allows for specific uses and comparing it with other commercial zones would not be helpful.
Doug Irving, a Valley realtor, told council during the public hearing, “there is a shortage of C3 in the Valley.
He said that any zoning change for property in the agricultural land reserve is subject to ruling by the Agricultural Land Commission, whatever council may say, and gave the example of a previous attempt some time back in which a car dealer had been trying to find land and finally had to give up and try elsewhere.
During council’s consideration of third reading, Coun. Al Siebring agreed on one point with Irving.
“C3 [zoning] is C3. There’s a reasons this application is for C3,” he said, adding he’d question the usefulness of looking at information on other commercial properties in North Cowichan, as Maguire had requested.
Coun. Joyce Behnsen said she hoped the developer realized the importance of the intersection, and thought rezoning to C3 would be a good step.
“This is a strategic regional hub. I’d hope the plans would be for something high quality, not just a commercial/industrial corner,” she said, adding, “In this case, I’d put our trust in the developer and our staff to see something really high quality go there.”
Now that the rezoning has passed third reading, it must go to the provincial government for review.
