Councillor Peter Wainwright did the right thing by focusing our attention on the proposed development on Beacon at 4th.
For those of us who don’t look at the applications for bylaw variances on a regular basis on the Town of Sidney website it would welcomed to have these projects advertised in the Peninsula News Review.
As for the project in question it would need a variance of height and parking spaces. With the current bylaws stating the maximum height on corners such as 4th and Beacon is 39.3 feet, the 58-foot height the developers is proposing is asking for way too much! The building currently under construction directly to the north of the proposed development is at five storeys, but that project got a variance for affordable rental units.
The proposed development at 4th and Beacon with so-called “attainable housing,” (for those with very deep pockets) would, as Councillor Barbara Fallot said, be the first project on the main street, and would be setting a precedent. The current bylaws allow for five and six-storey developments in the centre of the blocks, not on the corners.
As for the concerns that if not approved it would shut down development for 20 years, I don’t think so!
The developers know the rules when they purchase these properties and they always try to get a little “extra.” If they don’t develop the property because their height variance is turned down, so be it.
As for the variance of only providing 40 parking spots instead of the 44 spots required, by building to the existing bylaws that problem would be solved.
Dave Spencer
Sidney