Whether the area around Red Sands beach stays au naturel, or becomes part of a 205-unit housing development is now up to Nelson city council.
After months of silence, the developer of Nelson Landing sent three plans for the beach and surrounding parkland to council, and is asking it to pick the one it likes best.
“Any of the three options is fine with [developer] David Sorensen,” Nelson Landing consultant Peter Ward told council Monday. “He would just like the project to move forward.”
Of the three options, two would see some development in the forested area near the beach — four triplexes in option A, and four single family homes in option C. Option B, or in Ward’s words the “do nothing option,” would see only a composting toilet and road access added to the parklands around Red Sands. In that case, the number of units in the development would drop from 205 to 193, and all the parkland below the beach would become city property.
While the bulk of the Nelson Landing development would sit near John’s Walk, on the former Kootenay Forest Products sawmill site, plans to build four triplexes near Red Sands have brought the most controversy to the development in recent months. The beach and the land around it are currently zoned for park and open spaces use, and critics of Nelson Landing have argued they should be preserved as such.
Ward said Sorensen decided to offer up the three different designs after hosting a public information session last fall.
“He got feedback from some members of the community that said, look, we don’t want anything to happen down at Red Sands,” Ward told the Star.
“He also heard from some members of the community, we’re not happy with Red Sands right now. There’s some litter, some trash, some vandalism, and perhaps it would be better to have a presence down there. Some housing, some people.”
While she thinks having council make the decision is “easier,” councillor Kim Charlesworth said turning the responsibility for Red Sands’ fate over to the city is “[Sorensen’s] way of making things look good.”
“We’ve heard a lot of opposition to the proposal with development down towards Red Sands beach,” she added. “Although there’s been three proposals presented, they’re really not equal choices.”
Mayor John Dooley said he was pleased to see Sorensen taking public will into account and, like Charlesworth, declined to say which of the three options he preferred.
“For me personally, I’ll get into looking at the detail of the plans at this point,” he said.
“For me it’s very important we retain the Red Sands area as park, and not only did we get the beach, we’re being offered a substantial chunk of land, which is even better.”
Whichever option council decides to approve will become part of Nelson Landing’s rezoning application, which could be back in chambers for first and second reading by February 14. However, full approval of a rezone for the project won’t take place until the city has hammered out a development agreement that deals with issues such as construction timelines and affordable housing.
Ward told council Sorensen hopes to begin construction of Nelson Landing in late summer or early fall.