A six-floor, 40-unit residential building with ground-floor commercial space may be coming to Sicamous.
The proposed 7,900 square-foot residential building would be built next to the Best Western near the intersection of Highway 1 and Rauma Road.
The owner of the Best Western, Sicamous Inn Ltd., is proposing the new development and Salmon Arm-based architect Bernd Hermanski is the authorized agent on the application.
The application was reviewed by the District of Sicamous’ Planning and Development Committee at its May 26 meeting.
Plans for the building’s residential space show mostly two-bedroom apartments, with some studio and three-bedroom apartments as well.
Sicamous Inn Ltd. said the apartments would be an affordable place to live for hotel staff and other people working in Sicamous.
Coun. Jeff Mallmes, the committee chair, said he thinks the proposed development is a great idea because Sicamous needs more lower-cost rental units. His only concerns with the proposed development are parking and access.
Tim Hortons, the Best Western and the new development would all share the same fire lane and three entrances to an area that can already get quite crowded no matter the season, commented Mallmes.
Under current zoning laws, Sicamous Inn Ltd. would be required to provide two parking spaces per unit for a total of 80 spaces. They are proposing an amendment that would require them to provide 1.5 spaces per unit for a total of 60 spaces, as they theorize that not every unit’s tenant(s) will have two cars.
Sicamous Inn Ltd. said they can provide more parking space if required, but that they don’t want to pave over all of the green space in the area.
The proposed development would be built in an area that’s zoned C2 Highway Commercial. Multi-family dwellings are not a permitted use in the C2 zone. Due to this, the applicant is proposing that a new zone C2 A Highway Commercial Residential be created for the area.
The proposed building’s commercial space will be used for a restaurant and a convention centre that can be used by the hotel or anyone else who wants to rent it.
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@roman_reportszachary.roman@saobserver.net
