Sechelt council has given second reading to a zoning amendment required for the redevelopment of the former Gilligan’s Pub site in downtown Sechelt.
According to a staff report, 5770 Teredo Holdings Ltd. plans to change the building’s façade, add new roofs, and make a modest reduction to the existing footprint of the building to “update the form and character of the building.”
The use would be relatively similar with a new restaurant space and a new retail space, but a small section of the property zoned for “public assembly” will need an amendment to allow retail and services businesses.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is also requiring one of the entrances to the lot off of Teredo Street/Highway 101 closed to improve safety and traffic flow. The developer has already installed a barrier of concrete planters to better separate the old parking lot from Rosina Giles Way.
Coun. Tom Lamb said he also felt the redevelopment of the property offered an opportunity to increase the housing density downtown in the future if there’s potential to add upper-floor apartments.
“This is our downtown core and we have the potential to put more bodies here. You have great shopping right close by,” he said.
A date for a public hearing on the application has not been set.
Hospice lease
Sechelt council has approved a one-year renewal of its sublease of space at Kirkland House to the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society.
The Hospice Society uses Kirkland House, at 4602 Simpkins Rd. in Davis Bay, for its offices and pays the district, which holds the principal lease on the land and buildings from the province, $450 per month.
In a report to council, corporate officer Jo-Anne Frank said although the lease rate is below market it should be held at $450 a month because it “supports the provision of a worthwhile community service.”
The renewed lease includes an option to extend for an additional year.
Frank said the short term would give the district more flexibility if it needs the space, and Mayor Darnelda Siegers said the flexibility would also benefit the hospice society, which is currently in negotiations about the future location of hospice services as part of the changes to long-term care planned by Vancouver Coastal Health.
Airport lease
A lease renewal for one of the lots at the airport that was also up for a council vote on Nov. 6, however, did not pass.
Blackcomb Helicopters, which recently built a new hanger and made other upgrades to its facility, approached the district to enter into long-term lease of 20 years with two options to extend for an additional five years each.
The company’s current lease expires at the end of the year, but there is also an extension clause.
A staff report said a new, long-term lease raises no issues, given the $735,000 investment made by Blackcomb and the fact having the company there for the next two decades wouldn’t interfere with any future expansion of the airport.
Staff recommended an increase in the annual lease payment from $6,624 to $21,233.
Coun. Eric Scott, who also chairs Sechelt’s airport advisory committee, said he did not want to move forward with a renewal until staff reviews the current lease rates at similar airports in the province, instead of relying on a consultant’s report from several years ago.
“I’d like to see some current comparable land lease rates,” he said, adding a little later in the discussion that there was time “to make sure that we get this lease correct in terms of land lease rates and other clauses.”
Council voted to refer the issue back to staff.
