After taking an early approval step forward at council, a large development proposed for Bailey Street has inched toward becoming a reality, but several steps still remain.
At a July 4 regular business meeting, the District of Squamish council members heard an updated report about the Bailey Street development dubbed ‘The Village.’
The developer, Lovick Scott Architects Ltd., is seeking to rezone five parcels of land at 1331, 1251 and part of 1100 Bailey Street and 38261 Cleveland Ave. to a Comprehensive Development Zone (CD-107) and a western edge portion to an Ecological Reserve (P4). This area includes the current Re/Max office and stretches west down Bailey Street toward the ParkHouse residential building.
Council members unanimously approved the first reading of this project, with numerous items to be resolved before the second reading.
There are three readings and final adoption before a project is officially passed.
“This is a complicated site with a number of complexities,” Coun. John French summarized. “While I kind of wish we were moving a little quicker on this because we need the housing, I recognize that there are some important things for us to get really clear on.”
The outstanding items focus on the design of the Third Avenue road extension connecting Bailey Street and Buckley Avenue, intersection improvement at Cleveland Avenue and Bailey Street, traffic assessment approval, flood modelling and environmental review approval, CN Rail compliance, and addressing some Squamish Community Housing Society feedback.
“I am not expecting this to come back to council or to the public until the end of this year,” responded District planner Kerry Hamilton.
Later, Mayor Armand Hurford commented that he hoped they could get it on a future council agenda as soon as possible.
Two significant changes from the last time the project was brought forward to council in May are that the hybrid theatre would now have 325 seats compared to about 200 proposed before, and 149 childcare spaces would be added to the childcare centre.
The staff report says the hybrid theatre is meant to offer “both commercial cinema uses and a community event theatre space.”
Affordable homeownership model
The majority of the council meeting centred on a discussion of the residential units, overall development phasing, and parking.
The whole project is split into three sections: Lot A, Lot B and Lot C. Across the whole project, 224 residential units are proposed and about 9,000 square metres of commercial space.
A total of 23 units are proposed as an affordable home ownership model and 33 as market rental.
In a letter from a partner on the project, the president of Squamish Real Estate Developments Ltd., Ann Chiasson, wrote that the aim of the affordable homeownership model is to allow qualified locals to purchase a unit at 20% below market value.
“It's what helps people stabilize their long-term plans because eventually, they sell it [and] get their money back, instead of just throwing the rent away,” Chiasson told The Squamish Chief in a follow-up interview. “Then they buy in the market, and another person moves into the below-market.”
However, council members seemed conflicted about the model.
Councillors French and Lauren Greenlaw acknowledged the potential challenges ahead with the model but believed, ultimately, it was a worthwhile pursuit.
“I'm hopeful that we can do the heavy lift of contemplating homeownership as part of our affordable housing model, as homeownership is an important part of financial stability, especially in marginalized communities,” said Greenlaw.
Hurford and councillors. Jenna Stoner and Chris Pettingill were more on the fence about the prospect, given the Squamish Community Housing Society is relatively new, plus the immediate need for affordable rental apartments.
However, that did not entirely dissuade Hurford from ruling out the model, saying he would look to the society for input.
“I'm an eternal optimist, which seems to be helpful in this role,” he said.
Chiasson later said there’s still time for the housing society to make the affordable homeownership model work, saying it would be about “three years” before the units would be ready.
Phasing of the development
The proposed phasing develops the property from the west to east end — Lot C, then Lot B, then Lot A.
Lot A contains the bulk of the commercial space, an estimated 8,670 square metres. It includes the hybrid theatre, childcare and 33 residential units, which Chiasson explained would be meant to house the staff of the commercial spaces.
The main reason for the proposed phasing is to minimize the impact of construction noise on the use of the theatre and childcare.
However, Coun. Andrew Hamilton hoped they could rearrange the phasing since Lot A would have these associated amenities. Similarly, Pettingill said it aligns most with the District’s goals to match “new residential dwellings with employment.”
“We have the same concerns that some of the biggest amenities associated with this project are at the very end of the development process,” said Jonas Velaniskis, senior director of community development with the District.
But, Velaniskis said the muni has the ability to seek financial security at adoption or the beginning of the development process to secure the cash required for the amenities.
Hamilton ultimately suggested the proponent consider developing Lot B, then Lot A, then Lot C.
Parking associated with the project
Lastly, the project as a whole exceeds the number of required parking spots, some of which are accomplished by a four-level parkade in Lot A that is estimated to be 10.5 metres in height.
Hamilton opted for the developer to consider a height increase to maximize a parkade, considering the project would cover a chunk of land that is being used for free parking for nearby dwellings.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Pettingill largely believed there was too much parking associated with the project but acknowledged he was likely in the minority with that thinking.
Other council members felt relatively comfortable with the parking, as shown, with French saying it hit a “sweet spot” for him.
Stoner said she’d entertain an extra storey in the parkade, but wouldn’t push for it and also sought clarity on the number of public parking stalls come the second reading.
Greenlaw summarized the parking challenges.
“What we're experiencing as a community is a lag between infrastructure moving towards reducing dependency on cars, but we don't have the crucial infrastructure, effectively regional transit,” she said. “So what we've done is created a system where a lot of households require more than one car to access resources.”
“From my perspective, I think maximizing a parkade is beneficial,” she continued.
View this portion of the July 4 council meeting on the District’s YouTube page or view the report from council’s agenda on the District’s website.
