The new school site for École du Pacifique in Sechelt is one step closer to fruition following a council decision during its April 16 regular meeting.
The new francophone school is set to accommodate 200 students, including space for daycare, preschool, elementary and secondary education, said a staff report.
For the application to be approved, an Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment is required to change the designation to Civic Institutional Utilities from Multi-family Mixed Residential and a zoning amendment is required to rezone the area to Community and Civic 1 (CC-1) from Comprehensive Development 3 – Seniors Lodge (CD-3).
The staff report also says a portion of the existing road right-of-way would need to be designated accordingly.
Sechelt’s senior development planner, Tyson Baker, clarified the area as 2,191 square meters, including a trail on the western side.
Coun. Alton Toth proposed increasing the notification radius to 250 meters from 100, noting the original radius only included a few neighbours, and a larger area would more accurately encompass the neighbourhood.
Coun. Adam Shepherd supported the motion but raised concerns over the potential increase in traffic in the area, and suggested discussing residential development with the school district.
A public hearing was held last October, where the staff report says 14 members of the public voiced their opinion on the project, and concerns were raised over traffic circulation and congestion.
The applicants responded, saying, “Approximately 80 per cent of students would be travelling to school via school bus and would arrive in staggered time intervals, while the remaining students would arrive by other means.”
Council approved the motion to increase the notification radius and granted the application second reading.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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