The Wesbrooke by the Sea seniors development was back before council this week for first reading in a new form.
The plan still calls for a four-storey, 124-unit assisted and supported living building but now also now includes a separate two-storey, 12-unit affordable housing building on a 1.46-hectare site above Chatelech Secondary School in the Clayton Family Lands development.
Also, in order to create a squared-off Clayton Park, the new plan calls for an extra 1,285 square metres of green space for the public’s use and the building of two public pickleball courts.
A housing agreement would be set up with the District of Sechelt to set maximum rental rates at the affordable housing building, which would be controlled by Wesbrooke under the new plan.
Development planner Aaron Thompson said affordable housing rents would be capped at 30 per cent of the average median income of renters.
A zoning amendment and official community plan (OCP) amendment to change the designation of the Wesbrooke development to “institutional” is needed for the plan to proceed in its current form.
Thompson recommended council give both the OCP and zoning amendments first reading and referral to a public hearing to get the community’s feedback.
Councillors at the Dec. 7 planning and community development committee meeting, where the plan was first presented, were concerned about the OCP change to institutional.
Under the institutional designation, Wesbrooke by the Sea wouldn’t have to obtain a development permit, which is usually where council has some say over a development’s form and character.
“It’s just something in the Local Government Act, that local governments don’t have the authority to put those development permit requirements on institutional buildings,” said Thompson on Dec. 7, adding that the affordable housing building would be subject to a development permit as it’s not deemed institutional.
Coun. Noel Muller questioned Thompson’s reasoning, pointing out that it was staff that was requesting a change to the OCP designation to make Wesbrooke “institutional” in the first place.
“So we can’t change it because of the OCP and then we can because the OCP is changing?” Muller queried.
“No, we’re changing the OCP’s designation,” Thompson responded.
“We defined seniors’ care facilities such as this as an institutional use in the OCP because it is defined that way and it is included that way. It is part of that institutional use and we don’t have a development permit area for institutional uses, nor can we have a development permit area for institutional uses. So we’re limited by the Local Government Act and changing the definition in the OCP would be, I think, difficult and improper, probably in this case.”
When asked by Muller if staff was comfortable with advancing the Wesbrooke by the Sea development without a development permit, Thompson answered, “Yes.”
Committee members then recommended council give the proposal first reading and send it to a public hearing to see what the community has to say.
The plan was set to come to council for possible first reading on Dec. 21, past Coast Reporter deadline this week.
