Plans are in the works to increase Peace Arch Hospital’s emergency-generator capacity.
According to a City of White Rock staff report, the work is to meet Canadian Standards Association requirements for power supply and electrical safety in health-care facilities, as the existing space does not have room to accommodate additional generators and new seismic-upgrade standards.
Fraser Health initially sought a variance that would allow the 15521 Russell Ave. facility – eyed for a 54-stall parking lot on the hospital’s south side – to be built closer to area homes than city bylaws allowed, prompting residents who attended a public information meeting earlier this year to cite noise and proximity as among concerns regarding the planned generator building and exhaust stack.
Council meeting as the land-use and planning committee voted unanimously (with Coun. Al Campbell absent) in February to reject those plans and refer the application back to staff to explore other options with Fraser Health.
City manager Dan Bottrill said Wednesday that the health authority has since withdrawn the variance application, meaning the plan can move ahead without council involvement.
“They’ve stepped it back and now they’re in compliance,” Bottrill said.
He added that noise concerns – staff had described planned weekly testing of the generator as “the equivalent of a gas lawn mower at a 100-foot distance” – “should be alleviated” as a result.
Bottrill did not know a timeline for the project, but noted a development permit has not yet been issued.
