For the second time in 18 months, city council will be considering a rezoning application for a six-storey condo building in the Crescents area.
Investgo Ventures Ltd. is seeking to build a six-storey, 24-unit condo at 1699 Seventh Ave. For the development to go ahead, the lot must be rezoned from mid-rise residential to high-rise residential.
The matter was supposed to go before council on May 9, but was postponed to allow council time to focus on changes to the tax rate. City staff recommend council reject the proposal when it is back before them on June 13, according to city manager of current planning and development Nelson Wight.
"Although we'd encourage development both downtown and on the edges... there is a conflict between the proposal and [Official Community Plan] and the Crescents Neighbourhood Plan," Wight said. "The Crescents Neighbourhood Plans sets a maximum density of 90 units per hectare."
Building a 24-unit condo on the 0.13 hectare lot is equivalent to 185 unites per hectare - twice that allowed in the neighbourhood plan.
In December, 2009 the city received a rezoning request for a six-storey, 20-unit condo building on the lot, which is currently vacant.
The applicant pulled the request in February, after 47 out of 60 comments made during the public consultation period opposed the development.
In addition, during public consultation on the Residential Wood Innovation Comprehensive District, the majority of Crescents-area residents consulted opposed development of buildings higher than four stories.
The proposed building, located between Winnipeg Street and Vancouver Street on Seventh Avenue, is half a block outside the wood innovation district.
In his request to the city, Investgo Ventures president Gordon Bliss said the condo building, called The Elms, would have heated underground parking, a rooftop garden, large balconies and be wheelchair accessible throughout.
In order the make the project economically feasible, the building would need to include 24 units, Bliss added in his letter.
Bliss declined to comment when reached by phone on Friday.
