While no decision will come for months on what the Town of View Royal will allow for the proposed Christie Point redevelopment, Town council members fired some hardball questions to the proponent during the first official presentation of the plan.
Given a chance to offer opinion on the proposed 473-unit rental project, comprised of a mix of four- and stepped six-storey buildings on this ecologically sensitive 15.8-acre peninsula, mayor and council gave Christie Point owner and rezoning applicant Realstar Management some things to chew on during a special committee of the whole meeting at the Songhees Wellness Centre.
At one point in the Feb. 15 discussion, Coun. John Rogers tossed down a gauntlet for the company and Town staff: that they look at taking one storey off each of the eight buildings in the development – 41 units by his calculation – as a way to address the shortfall of parking spaces and make the project more palatable.
Realstar vice-president of development, Heather Grey-Wolf, cautioned that chipping away at the density proposed for the project eats away at its viability. To which Rogers responded, “They went down from nine (storeys) to six, they can go from six to five.”
The current zoning allows for four storeys. The existing layout of the rental property has 161 units spread amongst predominantly two-storey buildings.
The proposal remains in its early stages and there remain many unanswered questions.
Despite the financial supports the company plans to offer residents who eventually leave the complex, Coun. Ron Mattson said he is “still not satisfied with what Realstar is doing to support the existing residents in terms of rents.”
On more than one occasion, the topic of expected rents came up. Grey-Wolf indicated that because the company doesn’t yet know what it may be allowed to build and the associated costs, that calculating rents is difficult.
Coun. Aaron Weisgerber said “a development of this size should be able to have reduced rents available” in a certain percentage of suites. “If 30 units or so could be brought back at something cheaper than market rents, that would be advisable,” he said.
Residents who spoke about the project had concerns ranging from the effects on wildlife of the buildings, to the potential for light pollution, to providing a more active relocation plan for existing residents.
While the approximately 75 people in the room heard Grey-Wolf say the new buildings would welcome pets, six-year Christie Point resident Judy Newnham spelled out her research on the very small number of available rentals in the region that allow pets.
To illustrate her financial situation, she said she moved here to help her elderly parents and spends 45 per cent of her income on rent. With the complex’s rents already slightly higher than the regional average, she feared that an increase in her rent would force her to find cheaper accommodation.
Shoreline Drive resident Karen Leslie implored council to mind the OCP and limit the buildings to four storeys as allowed under existing zoning.
“We didn’t ask for six storeys,” she said.
One resident noted that if the project were limited to four floors, the reduced revenue would be passed along to renters on the form of higher rents.
In terms of height, only Screech stated he has “no issue with six storeys, rather than building out and losing green space.”
Weisgerber offered a suggestion to soften the impact of the massing, to reduce the height of buildings on higher elevations. Coun. Heidi Rast voiced concern over the massing of the central area of the development and suggested sending the application to the Town’s community development advisory committee for recommendations on the height and massing elements.
Screech said when the application comes back to committee of the whole, he wants to see plans for phasing the development, as a way to determine how many tenants will be able to stay during construction.
Staff are also expected to return with a detailed transportation analysis for the Shoreline Drive and Island Highway intersection, as well as parking and further clarification of building setbacks from the shoreline.
No date has been set for the next meeting relating to this application, but Screech noted that the rezoning would likely move to the public hearing stage in April or May.
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