The public will soon have a say on a proposed 42-townhouse development at 2310 Guthrie Rd. in Comox.
At July’s Comox council meeting, council approved first and second reading on a zoning amendment bylaw and a development agreement for the proposal, which would also have 530 square metres of commercial space.
During a presentation to council, the Town’s director of development services Marvin Kamenz explained there would a payment of $60,842 to Comox’s Affordable Housing Reserve Fund.
The building would be constructed so that the portion facing Guthrie Road would be commercial space, and that there would be five adaptable housing units included.
The development would consist of nine smaller buildings – three with six townhouse units and six with four units. Construction would meet the BC Building Code Energy Step 3 requirements, have electrical conduits in the garages of all townhouse units to facilitate future extensions of wiring for electrical vehicle charging facilities and have a minimum of nine bike parking spaces for the commercial units.
Parking for the commercial space would be internal, added Kamenz.
Acting mayor Ken Grant said originally the land was zoned commercially for a strip mall, and council received quite a bit of push back from neighbours at the time.
“For any neighbours who have been there for a while, this is a bit of a nice change.”
Coun. Alex Bissinger said she is excited to see the proposed development progress and compares it to the high-density Tin Town area in west Courtenay. She suggested some changes such as more room for gardening and if elevators could be built for the three-storey units which could allow for more aging-in-place.
Noting a concern for a lack of play area for young families, Coun. Pat McKenna inquired if playground access could be considered.
“Five-year-olds on bikes, there’s very little backyard. If there was a centralized play place, that might encourage more families to purchase here. I don’t see a lot of green grass, I see a lot of sandwiched homes together.”
A public hearing will take place for the public to submit comments and speak on the proposed development, however, due to COVID-19 regulations, a date and space have not yet been determined, or whether the hearing will happen virtually.
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