City staff aren't too keen on letting an approved commercial development in the Hart go forward without sidewalks.
The proponents behind a new Monterey Road subdivision are asking to have requirements for concrete sidewalks and underground electrical wiring waived.
A public hearing on the application is scheduled for Monday night's city council meeting.
In May, city council approved third reading of the rezoning application that would allow the Matte Bros. development of an almost 21-hectare property along Monterey Road East, east of Highway 97 North, to create 12 light industrial lots.
Planning staff are recommending council deny the application since the official community plan identifies a pedestrian network between the Hart highway and Monterey Road intersection and the Valleyview neighbourhood.
The proposed subdivision is also next to a recently approved rezoning application by the same developers across Highway 97 to allow for a mini-storage facility, restaurant and motel.
"This sidewalk infrastructure provides an amenity for the future employees and patrons in the area," said a staff report. "The pedestrian movement between the proposed subdivision and the major intersection is expected to occur for different reasons including access to public transit, commercial services, restaurants, or future trail systems."
According to a presentation prepared for council by L&M Engineering, there is low pedestrian activity in the Monterey Road and Hartway Drive area. Twenty hours of counting in June yielded a total of two pedestrians observed.
City council has unanimously approved all 46 development permit applications between 2010 and 2014 regarding waiving concrete sidewalk and underground wiring requirements, according to the presentation material.
Underground wiring in light industrial areas has been part of the city bylaws since 2007 and the subject property is on greenfield sites "that do not pose onerous challenges to meet this standard," said the staff report. "The request to install overhead wiring rather than underground wiring would detract from the city's objectives to mitigate the visibility of wiring, particularly adjacent to commercial land uses at Highway 97 and Monterey Road."
There are existing overhead power lines along Highway 97, Hartway Drive and Monterey Road and the applicant has a "desire to make [the] subdivision consistent with previous phases," said the L&M presentation.
Overhead wiring was approved for the Co-op Cardlock facility at 5520 Hartway Dr. in a subdivision already featuring overhead power when created in 1997, said the city staff report. Removing the power pole and putting the wiring underground would "have involved extensive works..." and property in question for the new application stretches across more than 20 hectares of vacant land.
"The properties are not infill sites within a well-established subdivision and the works to meet the underground wiring standard would not require significant alterations to existing infrastructure," said the staff report.
Public hearings are scheduled to begin in council chambers at 7 p.m.
