Four Sechelt OCP and rezoning applications that had been waiting on a detailed traffic impact study have passed third reading, but the vote was close for the Wesbrooke by the Sea project.
Mayor Bruce Milne described Wesbrooke, which would be above Chatelech Secondary School near Clayton Park, as “the right project, at the right time, in the wrong place” before voting against the zoning amendment.
Milne said he’s generally supportive of more assisted living on the Sunshine Coast, and the changes in parkland dedication the developer is prepared to make, but it wasn’t enough to translate to support for the project as a whole.
“I can’t envision this particular project at that place in this time in Sechelt history,” Milne said, going on to quote from the planning department report which said “the better choice in terms of long-term benefits and strategic land use planning would be to deny the application for amendments to the OCP and zoning bylaw, while the better choice in terms of short-term benefits and a reasonable compromise would be to give the proposed zoning bylaw amendment third reading.”
Milne said he favours the long-term view, but with some reluctance.
“I don’t think I have said such a flat no to any project that’s come forward yet, but I certainly do on this one.”
He said the massing of the project and the potential changes to traffic patterns were his primary concerns.
Councillors Alice Lutes and Darren Inkster also voted against third reading, giving similar reasons as Milne, but it passed with support from Darnelda Siegers, Mike Shanks, Noel Muller and Doug Wright.
Muller said he also had to balance the concerns of nearby residents with the benefits of the project. “I have heard the residents with regards to their concerns about how they feel they’ve been treated by the developer … but first and foremost is this issue we have with our aging population, and to me that carries a weight that is more than the other [concerns].”
Siegers said the developer has been responsive and open to making several changes. “I will support it at this point, because I think there is a huge need, and this developer has a good reputation, has been responsive, and is willing to work with the community,” she said.
The other OCP and zoning amendments up for third or second and third readings, two for the Clayton Family Lands properties (adjacent to the Wesbrooke site) and one for the Rockwood Ocean Stories project (slated for land below Chatelech Secondary), passed unanimously.
The applications had to go through additional public hearings because of a combination of procedural errors and the need for a traffic impact study that would look at the cumulative impact of the projects on the downtown core.
As a result of the Sept. 6 votes, all four zoning amendments now include the condition that “the servicing requirements identified in the R.F. Binnie & Associates Ltd report … are secured based on a proportionate share of the traffic generated.”
The Wesbrooke and Clayton Family Lands developments will also need to provide road dedications for a future Neptune-Derby connector.
