Courtenay council passed second reading to rezone land for a commercial residential development at Crown Isle behind Costco.
The applicant — Silver Sand Land Corp. — proposes to construct single-family homes between Salal Place, Elderberry Crescent and the northern part of Crown Isle Boulevard. The project calls for an expanded commercial area at the corner of Ryan and Anderton roads.
Ronna-Rae Leonard was the lone member of council opposed at Tuesday's meeting. She is concerned with potential impacts of having a greater number of people residing in small spaces. She also takes issue with the swapping of zones while having no provision for affordable housing.
Leonard also feels council needs to address noise concerns expressed at a June 5 neighbourhood meeting.
According to staff, the application will 'undo' certain changes made in 2009 when residential uses were transferred from Costco to the Ryan-Anderton area, and when commercial zoning was moved to the Costco area.
Zoning allows for single family, duplex and multi-family dwellings. The homes will act as a buffer between the development and residential area at Salal.
While noise is an issue during construction, staff believe the new homes and landscaping will "mitigate future issues between residential and commercial uses." Staff recommends construction of a sound attenuation wall between the commercial site and homes on the east side of Crown Isle Boulevard when future development occurs.
The property in question is bordered on the north side by a strip 10 metres wide that is intended to be a walkway.
Besides noise, attendees at the meeting were concerned about retaining vegetation in the parkland area.
Director of development services Peter Crawford said fencing, landscaping and other tools will be used to mitigate noise during construction. Tree retention will be maximized, he added. Crawford noted construction techniques used in a McDonald Road project resulted in a natural setting.
A public hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 19 in council chambers.
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