Nanaimo city council sent a flag up the compromise pole Monday as it left the door open for highrise buildings to be built along Stewart Avenue, but only through intense public process and the caveat that public amenities be included for any application for more than four storeys.
Council has tried to find common ground between two neighbourhood associations divided over building heights and neighbourhood densities in an attempt to develop the Newcastle and Brechin Neighbourhood Plan.
Brechin Hill residents have made it clear they aren’t in favour of highrises, while the Newcastle Neighbourhood Association and Stewart Avenue Stakeholders Association, made up of property owners along the road, are open to the development of buildings eight storeys and higher.
“We’re trying to find what is acceptable to the community, some of whom don’t want highrises, and to developers and property owners,” said Mayor John Ruttan. “The reality is you can’t stop building, you can’t stop progress and you can’t stop people from coming and that is what we’re trying to sort out.
“We respect the people who want their neighbourhood to stay the same, but people have to understand the developers own the land. Do they not have rights as to what they want to do and express opinions of their vision with their own property?”
Monday’s decision was not binding. Setting the base height at four storeys and removing proposed neighbourhood designations in favour of utilizing the Official Community Plan neighbourhood designation – which retains 10 to 50 units per hectare throughout Brechin Hill and Beach Estates – will now have to be included in the OCP amendment bylaw and voted on later by council. That process will also include another public hearing, likely to be scheduled for May 5.
Some of the amenities that would be required from developers to build over the four-storey base height include public washrooms, connecting the seawall, bike paths and traffic calming.
“I’m glad they made a choice and this is coming to an end,” said Warren Jaques, of the Newcastle Neighbourhood Association. “Height was never an issue for us, that’s something the guys on the waterfront will have to work out, but it looks like we’ll be getting a large amount of amenities out of it.”
