Revelstoke City Council has issued a development permit for a three story commercial and residential unit at 411 1st St., but the modern design sparked conversation about preserving the historic downtown look.
“We have been, I think, extremely successful in protecting the downtown core and I am worried that if we keep chipping away and not looking at development that is adding to the revitalization, I’m just worried that we are going to start loosing the things that we have become famous for,” said Mayor Mark McKee.
The three storey development next to the laundry mat on 1st St. will host a 750 sq. ft. commercial space on the ground floor with a 1,200 sq. ft. apartment on the second floor and another on the third floor.
The developer plans to include underground parking beneath the building for the tenants.
“We are seeing the construction of more modern architecture in town right now,” said Daniel Sturgeon of the city’s planing department. “We’ve worked with the applicant on this to adjust some siting, but we haven’t done anything to adjust the look of the building.”
The problem, Sturgeon said, is that the city does not have a description written down of what they would like to see buildings look like in the downtown core.
Developers look at bylaws and create plans before even consulting with the city, and by the time they come through the door they have already spent thousands of dollars, Sturgeon said.
“We have to change our process so that people understand, right from the very start,” McKee said.
Councillor Connie Brothers agreed.
“We are growing really quickly,” she said. “We who have lived here for a long time know who we are and what we want for this city but it is not written down anywhere.”
Brothers brought forward a motion to have staff strengthen the design guidelines and ensure that future development does not stray too far from the architecture and look that visitors appreciate.
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