Council OK’d a small but dense new development in downtown Squamish that will go ahead without a public hearing because of a recent change in provincial rules.
In a 6-1 vote at the March 19 regular business meeting, Squamish council members approved three readings for a six-unit townhouse project at 37940 Fourth Ave.
Coun. Lauren Greenlaw was the only council member opposed.
Likely at the next regular business meeting, this development will be adopted.
The applicant, or proponent, for the project is listed as numbered company 1427417 BC LTD.
A land title search through the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC shows a local Squamish individual owns the property.
The townhomes will have three storeys with two bedrooms and patio space. The six units are divided between two buildings, one fronting Fourth Avenue and the other located eastward.
“With the regulations coming in, this does feel like quite an aggressive move from the single-family [zoning] that’s there,” said Mayor Armand Hurford.
Yet, given the housing crisis and new provincial policies, he said, “This is not a far departure from the new baseline.”
“I think it’s entirely appropriate that the downtown runs slightly more dense than the minimum.”
The project will provide about $83,000 cash in lieu as a community amenity contribution and commit to a no-gas covenant. Other contributions include frontage improvements on Fourth Avenue, including a sidewalk and streetlight, trees, and a swale.
“This development proposal, to me, is a consistent fit with the townhouse and newer housing developments that are in the adjacent area,” said Coun. John French. “It's a creative strategy for getting six units into a relatively small property.”
Coun. Jenna Stoner thought the project was a good example of how housing may transition in the downtown core.
“This starts to give us a little bit of insight of how that transition away from Third, into some of the more lower density components in the rest of downtown, will start to happen,” she said.
In his support, Coun. Chris Pettingill noted his appreciation for the stiff language about natural gas in the land development agreement which states “no natural gas connections will be provided.”
“That language, I think, is very clear,” he said, adding it would be good language to use going forward.
Although Coun. Lauren Greenlaw voted against the three readings, she did not provide comments about why. Later in the meeting, while debating another housing development that was up for second reading, she said it was difficult to support more housing developments while the community was outgrowing its infrastructure.
