Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Proposal for three-storey Fernwood development sent to public hearing

A proposal to build a three-storey commercial-residential building on the edge of the Fernwood Village has been sent to public hearing by Victoria councillors.
FERNWOOD.jpg
The Belfry Theatre is at the heart of Fernwood Village. A proposal to build a three-storey commercial-residential building on the edge of the village has been sent to public hearing by Victoria councillors.

A proposal to build a three-storey commercial-residential building on the edge of the Fernwood Village has been sent to public hearing by Victoria councillors.

The Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group wants to replace a single-family home at 1310 Gladstone Ave. with a new building that would have two floors of office and commercial space and either commercial or residential on a third floor.

Tenants could include a bakery, hair salon, yoga studio, spa, bike shop and restaurant and bar.

The building would only have two off-street parking stalls in the rear yard, significantly fewer than the 11 to 26 stalls required (depending on the actual uses) in an area where parking is at a premium.

The proposal would include standard bike racks and car-share memberships tied to commercial and residential units.

Councillors sent the application to public hearing in a five-to-three vote, with councillors Geoff Young, Pam Madoff and Shellie Gudgeon opposed. Coun. Ben Isitt recused himself because of a potential conflict.

In a letter to council, David Maxwell, chairman of the Fernwood Community Association land-use committee, called for wider consultation on village boundaries before undertaking such a “one-off” change.

Madoff said she found it “disheartening” council wasn’t dealing with the planning of neighbourhood villages in a more comprehensive way.

“It’s often bandied about that the only way you really build community is when everybody is involved, yet we’re looking at doing these one-off … cherry-picking parts of Official Community Plans and then cherry-picking parts of a neighbourhood plan to suit whatever position we may take,” Madoff said.

Madoff said she found it frustrating because the Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group application is an innovative project with a lot of merit. “It really frustrates me that I’m in a position where I have to separate the notion of the building, the use, the design and how it’s accommodated on this particular site from the village-centre issue.”

Young, council liaison to Fernwood, said a variety of issues have come up about the village, including parking and whether to open access through the square.

“Maybe it is time [the] wider issue [of village boundaries] was discussed through some specific public process, or we could allow that discussion to take place in the context of this particular proposal.”

Helps, who called the application a solid proposal, said it’s best to have the discussion on expanding the village centre of the OCP “when we have a proposal in front of us, not based on some fiction that may or may not happen.”

She noted the proposal is to replace a single-family dwelling sandwiched between a pub and grocery store on one side and a 16-unit townhouse complex on the other, pointing out it’s directly across from a commercial building.

“So to me, this makes sense as part of the village.”

Coun. Chris Coleman said city planning documents aren’t written in stone. “When we talk about our villages, they will evolve … either with guidance from us or they will do it organically. Both are to be welcomed and viewed with a possibility of: ‘Is this a contextual fit?’ I think this application is a good one.”

The Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group is a non-profit that has provided childcare and recreational activities through the Fernwood Community Centre since 1979.

In 2005, the group purchased the Cornerstone building and opened apartments for affordable housing to four families.

It also owns the Cornerstone Café and Park Place Apartments, creating affordable housing for six more families.