Nelson City Council has tentatively voted in favour of a five-storey design for a proposed affordable housing development in Fairview.
Council had requested staff examine a four-storey alternative for the SHARE Housing Initiative development at 1306-1308 Fell St., following neighbourhood opposition to the size of the building. It also considered other nearby locations for the multi-housing unit meant to provide 10 two-bedroom units, 26 one-bedroom units and 12 studio units for working people with low-to-moderate incomes.
M'akola Development Services, who are serving as the project consultants, presented council with two designs for the property at a March 18 meeting. Council passed the five-storey design at its first two readings, and will next schedule a public hearing, likely in April, that would be followed by a final vote.
The five-storey option would be approximately 18 meters in height and include 48 units and 30 parking units located underground and on the surface. By contrast, the four-storey version would be approximately 15 meters, have around 38 units with the current floor plan, and 26 parking units all at surface level.
A M'akola spokesperson added it hopes to bring one more redesigned four-storey option to council that could increase the units to 42 because BC Housing, which would fund the project, prefers developments have more than 40 units.
M'akola said the operating costs for both plans would essentially be the same, and each would still require a height variance (current zoning only allows for 13 meters). There would be less community benefit with fewer units and decreased rental revenue, said M'akola, but potentially more neighbourhood support for the four-storey plan.
An open house survey in January found 29 respondents in support of the project and 13 opposed or concerned. A further eight respondents had concerns but support affordable housing construction, and four more opposed the plan due to worries about increased density in Nelson. It wasn't clear from the results how many respondents lived in the immediate area near the land in question.
The property was previously rezoned from institutional to residential at a meeting in early March, but council also considered if there were other nearby locations more suitable.
One parcel located at 820 Tenth St., next to Selkirk College's Tenth Street Campus, has already been set aside by the city for Kootenay Climbing Association's planned new facility. The association said in a statement it opposed swapping land with SHARE because it already has about $1.5 million in pending grant applications tied to the existing site.
Vacant land next to the climbing association's parcel was also examined and determined to be too costly for the city. Staff reported the property would require road improvements estimated to cost between $500,000-$750,000 as well as new sanitary and storm mains at a cost of $80,000-$130,000. The land is currently used as sand and gravel storage, for which there is no alternative site at the moment.
That left 1306-1308 Fell St. as the only viable location in Fairview for SHARE's development.
Although council voted in favour of the five-storey plan, it may still change its preference back to a four-storey development following the public hearing or opt to scrap the development entirely.
SHARE's proposal is one of two current affordable housing developments being considered by city council. The other, located next to the Nelson and District Community Complex on the 800 block of Front Street, would be a six-storey, 50-unit building operated by Nelson CARES.
