City council has approved a controversial set of variances to allow the first eightplex to be built at Nelson Landing — with some new conditions attached.
At a special meeting Monday night, council agreed to require that the development have at least five parking spaces for public use, and that a covenant be placed on the property to allow the city to request at anytime that the owner construct a sidewalk through the development.
Development manager David Wahn explained that it makes more sense to require the sidewalk at a later phase of construction on the site because it would be too onerous to connect the single eightplex to the existing sidewalk network.
These added requirements come in light of significant public outcry from people living near the Sproat Drive development site.
Neighbours were also concerned about the developer’s request to narrow the width of the roadway and waterfront pathway. But council allowed those variances to go ahead unchanged.
“There are many examples of narrow roads in many countries and other places in BC,” councillor Donna Macdonald told 103.5 The Bridge following the meeting. “It can work really well to calm the traffic and encourage smaller vehicles and a safer environment.”
The only councillor to vote against the variance requests was Robin Cherbo who said his main concern was how congested the future Nelson Landing development would be.
But Macdonald said the city stands to benefit from seeing Nelson Landing built up. She pointed out that the section of waterfront pathway connecting John’s Walk to Red Sands Beach will be completed by the developer and donated back to the city, along with the finished roadway and some parkland, including Red Sands Beach.
The Nelson Landing development, a 13-acre, lakeside development site on former Kootenay Forest Products land, could eventually grow to include more than more than 200 residences and multi-use buildings.