Sooke may soon have a second Tim Hortons restaurant and drive-through if re-development plans for Evergreen Centre come to fruition.
The first location is under construction on T’Souke First Nation property, near Edward Milne community school.
RELATED: FIRST LOCATION LONG OVERDUE
District council approved a development permit for the mall site at 6660 Sooke Rd. that will allow for the well-known doughnut shop on the former site of the Royal Bank, adjacent to the existing B.C. Liquor Store.
Lorne Bavinchuk, representing Skyline Retail REIT who own and operate the property, recently provided details on the proposed restaurant development.
And while council was generally supportive of the concept, there were concerns voiced on the presence of another chain outlet in Sooke.
“I’m not sure that this is best in terms of what we want to see coming through the roundabout, but my understanding is that Tim Hortons is something that we can put there,” Coun. Tony St. Pierre said.
“What we have there right now isn’t very good either. There’s a whole lot of nothing.”
Coun. Al Beddows gave more support of the concept and said he didn’t feel it detracted from the community.
“It gives residents another option. Sure it’s a chain, but it’s a business and it’ll employ people. I don’t see much wrong with it,” he said.
Mayor Maja Tait weighed in on the request expressing support for the restaurant and the drive-through component of the proposed operation, but had a suggestion regarding the landscaping and paving of the development.
She called for the characteristic brick pavers in the area to be extended by Tim Hortons so the character of the area could be maintained. That position ultimately resulted in an amendment being tacked onto the approval that called for the pavers to be installed.
But one potential sticking point remained, despite the council’s support of the development permit.
The district has called for a broad-ranging stormwater management plan to be part of the planned development.
Bavinchuk objected and said the developers want the requirement to be reworded to offer a pipe in their area of “equal or greater flow capacity” as opposed to creating a new plan for the entire upstream catchment area.
He said the proposed study was an unfair imposition and it had the potential to scuttle the whole deal.
The meeting descended into a complex discussion of storm sewer requirements and resulted in the district’s commitment to working with the developer to resolve the situation.
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