Gateway area residents and business owners aren't too keen on their potential new neighbour.
During Monday night's council meeting, a public hearing will be held on an application to allow an adult-oriented retail store to set up shop in the former Sakura restaurant.
The owner of the Victoria Street property is requesting an amendment to the current neighbourhood commercial zoning to allow the adult operation on the site.
The city's planning department has recommended council give the application the go-ahead.
"The proposed adult-oriented retail store is compatible with the surrounding mix of retail and service commercial uses and is not expected to generate high volumes of traffic," said the staff report, which also points to compatibility with the official community plan.
But a letter to the city from the Gateway BIA indicates this particular addition to the area's business community isn't very welcome and urges council to vote against the plan.
"We have spent over 16 years and two million dollars beautifying our area and connecting businesses," wrote BIA chairman John Enemark. "We have worked on reducing the drug trade and prostitution in our area with a lot of success to ensure our neighbours and ourselves have a safer neighbourhood to work and live in."
He cited members such as McDonald's and Total Pet as among those concerned for their clients.
"[Members] also voiced concerns for their clients form the Northern Health's Gateway Lodge whose residents frequent their businesses, bringing along their young visiting children," Enemark wrote.
A letter from Dian Yorke and Cal Hamilton also expresses concern for the neighbourhood.
"This type of establishment needs a backdrop where other adult-oriented or late night store businesses are situated," they wrote, also citing the improvements made in the area through decorative lamp posts, brick sidewalks, gardens, flower baskets and public art work. "So to allow this amended zoning to go through and widen our Red Light District will not improve the future image [of] the entranceway to the downtown of P.G."
The planning staff report indicates the "multiple family residences located in the area (east and west) are segregated from the subject property by a major road (Victoria Street) and a local collector road (Redwood Street)."
But staff also recommend that if council approves third reading of the application after the public hearing, that the final reading be withheld until a landscape plan is in place since it currently "does not meet the standards of the zoning bylaw for commercial developments."
Public hearings at council begin at 7 p.m.
