Skip to content

Six-storey housing project for Inlet Avenue gets first reading

Councillors in Sechelt have given first reading to the zoning amendments Sunshine Coast Community Services Society (SCCSS) will need to build a 34-unit housing complex at its site on Inlet Avenue.
SCCSS project
A height study showing what the proposed Sunshine Coast Community Services Society housing project, in grey, will look like from Inlet Avenue.

Councillors in Sechelt have given first reading to the zoning amendments Sunshine Coast Community Services Society (SCCSS) will need to build a 34-unit housing complex at its site on Inlet Avenue.

The project is intended to provide affordable, long-term housing for women and children and will have the financial backing of BC Housing.

“It really gives us the opportunity to meet the need on the Coast in a comprehensive way, tapping into the experience and knowledge we have,” SCCSS executive director Catherine Leach said of the project at the announcement of the partnership with BC Housing last November.

As well as the residential units, the six-storey mixed-use development would also house the SCCSS offices and space to run most of its programs.

The property at 5638 Inlet Ave. is zoned Commercial 2, which allows for a commercial use building with residential units on the upper floors. The SCCSS project also meets the Official Community Plan criteria for that part of Sechelt.

District planner Sven Koberwitz said the need for a zoning amendment was triggered by the proposed six-storey height of the building and the extra density of five units. He also pointed out that the development potential of the property is “constrained” by the presence of the BC Hydro power lines and the right of way attached to them.

There was very little debate about the merits of the project at the April 1 council meeting. Councillors expressed general support, but there was a lot of discussion about how to go through the next steps – a public information meeting and public hearing – given the provincial health officer’s orders around large gatherings during the COVID pandemic.

“How do we propose the applicant actually do [an information meeting] given what we’re dealing with right now?” Mayor Darnelda Siegers asked. “They have done a number of public information sessions already.”

Koberwitz said an information meeting is a requirement under the district’s procedures bylaw, but the format is open-ended and staff are working with SCCSS to find a way to hold the meeting while following the health officer’s restrictions.

The format for public hearings, however, is less flexible.

The public hearing for the Community Services project won’t be scheduled until after the bylaws receive second reading, and corporate officer Joanne Frank told council that the province has now issued some guidelines for municipalities on procedures like public hearings.

“We must follow the public officer’s recommendations, and the strong suggestion is that we find other ways to continue to still allow those democratic processes to take place,” Frank said. “Right now we’re looking at broadening our existing IT software to allow, for example, virtual public hearings. We hope to have more information soon.”

– With files from Sophie Woodrooffe