A second public hearing is scheduled for a developer, who hopes to rezone an area near Maple Park Terrace.
The proposal was first rejected at the May 28 council meeting, but Sooke mayor Maja Tait brought it back for reconsideration.
The council agreed that it could not move forward with the proposal until certain concerns from the developer were addressed.
“This is exactly the outcome I expected,” said Michael Volk, the developer of View Pointe Estates, located at Maple Park Terrace.
“If I could have stood up there and told council that I have already addressed those issues I would have, but they can’t consider any new information unless there is another public hearing.”
The next public hearing is scheduled for July 23, where the public can voice their opinion or concerns with the development.
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The area was previously zoned for development made up of approximately 400 units, but the View Pointe Estates developer bought the land and is proposing reducing the number of lots to 137, and increase parkland.
The plan also includes installing trail corridors, nature viewing areas, a playground and picnic area, and parking for visitors. The developer has agreed to maintain the park for the first five years after it’s installed.
At the first public hearing, some residents who live in the Maple Park Terrace area felt snubbed because the previous developer had not followed through on a promise to hook up houses to the municipal sewer system.
But Volk promised to put a pressure line in for the residents to get hooked up to the system.
There were also some concerns with traffic, affordability and parking, but Volk said those things will not be an issue because the new development will have less density than the last zoning, lots of parking and options for affordable housing.
He does not plan to make any major changes to the proposal before bringing it to the next public hearing, other than letters of approval from residents in the area.
“This proposal is well thought out, and everybody loves it,” Volk said.
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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