With Vernon, B.C.’s rental vacancy rate down, city councillors were divided last fall on whether to support variances for a proposed new rental project.
Council rejected the developer’s variance requests and sent the project back to the drawing board.
Now the city says the project has been retooled to fit within zoning requirements and is going ahead.
A development permit has been issued for the new four-and-a-half-story building at 4001 34A Street.
The new Hilltop Manor building is expected to provide 27 units of rental housing.
Vernon’s mayor is happy to see the revised project go ahead.
Victor Cumming said the developer got the message that exceeding the buildable area of the property was not acceptable to council and figured out how to go ahead with the rental development.
“I think this is exactly the kind of thing that the community needs. This is 27 rental units. Every single one counts,” said Cumming.
The mayor said it would be good to see more projects like this that fit within the zoning rules as it makes the regulatory process faster for developers and allows new units to be built as quickly as possible.
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The revised project has two fewer units than was in the original proposal.
The original design required variances to build closer to the property line and include fewer parking spots than typically allowed.
Area residents had a host of concerns about the original design for the project, including the impact of on-street parking and privacy for neighbours.
Last fall, Vernon’s mayor said some of what the developer was asking for was too drastic, including a request to build to within a meter of the property line.
“Council is quite flexible, we have been flexible on parking and we have been flexible on side and rear yard setbacks, but this was a bit extreme and that was beyond the limits,” Mayor Victor Cumming said in November 2021.
“Yes, we are keen to see a slight increase in densification in the city and providing more housing, but you can’t do it at the expense of the neighbour beside you.”
It’s not clear if the revised plan has addressed all of the neighbouring residents concerns.
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