A medium-sized development of 26 townhouses passed the first and second reading at council on Nov. 21 and will head to a public hearing in the new year.
At a regular business meeting, Squamish council members passed the first and second reading of a townhome development off Government Road by a vote of 6-0. Coun. John French declared a conflict of interest, stating a person in connection to the ownership of the property made a financial contribution to his election campaign.
With the approval of the first and second reading, a public hearing about the development will occur on Jan. 16, 2024. Meetings start at 6 p.m.
After the public hearing, council may consider the third reading of the development.
The development is located at 40279 Government Rd. and includes 26 townhouses, 21 of which are three-bedroom units and the other five are two-bedroom units plus a den.
Currently, the lot sits empty as a previous building was destroyed by a fire.
“This is an area that we tend to encourage densification,” said Coun. Jenna Stoner. “It is walking distance to some critical amenities, it’s on a key transit line and across the street from an elementary school.”
Coun. Andrew Hamilton called the rezoning “fairly straightforward” and said the development appeared consistent with neighbouring properties.
Technically, the lot is split by the CN rail line into a 1.5-hectare western section and a 0.58-hectare eastern section. The applicant and developer, Gary Dhaliwal, proposes to donate the western portion of the property to the District of Squamish as part of its community amenity contribution for active transportation and parks.
Municipal planner, Bryan Daly said this portion of land is “environmentally sensitive” and it is likely best to be left as it is. He also noted the value of the parcel is certainly higher than the estimated $50,000 the applicant would have needed to pay otherwise.
In addition to the land donation, there is also cash in lieu of critical amenities totalling just over $500,000.
Mayor Armand Hurford said he wanted to see future safety improvements to the connection between the property and Government Road, given there would be more residents if the development went ahead, but noted that those improvements could happen later in the process.
“This is a nice addition to the neighbourhood,” he said.
The development will be powered by electricity only, including hot water tanks, as there will be no natural gas connections provided or permitted. There will be two parking stalls per unit, plus seven visitor stalls, for a final tally of 59 stalls.
