Council has voted to approve a development permit for the construction of five townhouse units at 340 2nd Avenue.
Approval is subject to an $18,065 security bond for landscaping and provision of a bicycle rack.
The property, located on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Roberts Street is currently a vacant plot of land. This development was originally rezoned on Jan. 6, 2014, when council voted to rezone the property to allow for multi-dwelling residential. The development was designed to be in accordance with DPA 4 - Multi-Unit Residential zoning.
Under DPA-4 guidelines, the proposal will have a scale that complements the form, scale and massing of residential buildings within the neighbourhood. The building is designed with a neo-traditional aesthetic but incorporates current construction technology and design aesthetics.
The height of the building is limited to 10.4 metres with a four-metre setback from the front parcel line and a 1.5-metre setback from the rear parcel line.
Each unit will have two bedrooms, a front sundeck, a second-storey balcony, a private backyard patio, a driveway and a garage. Units will also be designed to meet or exceed the Energuide 80 Energy Standard and feature permeable concrete on driveways and patios. The developer has retained a Certified Energy Advisor to assist them with meeting the energy efficiency requirements.
Council expressed some concern about potential parking issues with the development. The driveways of the units exist within the Town-owned boulevard. Council had to consider a vehicle parking variance as part of the development permit.
The Zoning Bylaw requires a total of 11 vehicle parking spaces (2 per unit plus 0.2 per unit of visitor parking) for the proposed development. Five off-street parking spaces are proposed, located in the garages. When the proposal was considered in 2013, the driveways were considered parking spaces, however since a large portion of each driveway is within the Town-owned boulevard, they cannot be considered “off-street parking”.
Council voted to grant the variance which allows the developer to reduce or alter the off-street parking requirements.
Mayor Aaron Stone expressed his support for the project and reminisced about the original rezoning process back in 2013.
“I was the only person who showed up and supported the five-unit townhouse development for that property. I still think today, as I did then, it’s a valuable contribution.”