Prince George city council approved a temporary use permit allowing a company to host medical businesses out of its Fourth Avenue building at its Monday, Aug. 18 meeting.
LSV Progress Management wanted a three-year permit for the building at 944-952 Fourth Ave. so that a mental health counsellor, a holistic health business and a massage business be allowed to operate there.
The property is currently zoned M4: Transition Industrial, which city staff said in a report does not allow for “health service, minor” or “service, massage therapy” land uses.
A letter from the management company’s Luke Veeken to the city dated May 24 states that all three tenants are “owner-operators who work by appointment only, seeing one client at a time.”
“There is no excessive noise, environmental impact, or increase in traffic beyond that of a typical office or educational space, both of which are currently permitted under the M4 zoning,” Veeken wrote.
“These proposed uses are consistent in scale and intensity with existing zoning allowances and do not pose a risk related to contaminants, food production, cannabis or other disruptive activity.”
Veeken said he has owned the building since 2019 and has seen frequent tenant turnover due to external factors affecting downtown Prince George.
“Many businesses express hesitation about relocating to the core because of challenges including homelessness, trespassing and waste around entrance ways — such as garbage, feces and used needles,” he said.
“These issues have created safety concerns for tenants’ staff members and discouraged long-term tenancy, contributing to relatively low rental rates in the downtown area.”
Despite those issues, he said he has been able to attract the new tenants, who will contribute positively to downtown revitalization.
City staff’s report said that they support granting the temporary use permit so that they can better understand allowing those land uses at the property ahead of it potentially being rezoned.
Under city bylaws, temporary use permits can be granted for up to three years and can be renewed for up to another three years. After that, the property owner must apply to have the property rezoned.
The adjacent building, 970-964 Fourth Ave., received a temporary use permit in 2021 to allow for Carrier Sekani Family Services to run medical services out of an M4 zone. That TUP was renewed this February.
No correspondence either in favour or opposition to the application was received by the city.
