Areas next to the highway are prime for commercial development and it doesn't make sense to stand in the way, members of city council decided.
Official community plan and zoning amendments for the intersection of Highway 97 and Monterey Road in the Hart were approved unanimously during Monday night's meeting.
During a public hearing, neighbours spoke enthusiastically in opposition to a specific application that would allow for a mini-storage facility and motel and restaurant on the west side of the highway.
"This proposal here would literally kill the neighbourhood," said one resident. "It's going to bring nothing but dismay to the community."
Of particular controversy was the proposal for the commercial mini-storage facility on the northwest corner of the intersection.
L&M Engineering, representing property owners the Matte Bros., said these types of one-storey facilities are meant to be low-traffic, safe and aesthetically appealing.
Planner Ashley Elliot cited similar facilities in comparator communities such as Kamloops, saying the new model was "clean attractive and more appealing self-storage facilities of the past."
Danielle Denby, a Kamloops native who now lives on Monterey Road, said the facility in question is in a business district and nowhere near residences.
"I could literally throw a rock from my driveway and hit one of those businesses, that's how close it's going to be," Denby said of the proposed development.
L&M president David McWalter noted that the land already has commercial zoning, and that the applicant was looking to expand it.
Staff had recommended approval of the applications, given that their location at a major intersection along the highway could be better suited for commercial uses as opposed to low-density residential uses.
However the proposed zone "requires that any commercial uses be oriented towards Monterey Road to establish prominence over the mini-storage units and to create a more inviting curb appeal," the staff report said.
The train for development on the property left the station a long time ago, said Coun. Garth Frizzell, agreeing that commercial uses have long been allowed on the site.
And while he was first siding with the residents, Coun. Murry Krause said his concerns regarding traffic and safety were addressed with the information that entry to the commercial site, which would also include a retail plaza, would not be closer to the highway and not further down Monterey Road.
