Post by KevDreger on May 31, 2006 18:29:54 GMT -5
I was reading in the capital news that there is a proposal from the owner of the Capri mall to build five 16 storey towers on the site but council says they will reconsider.
Here is the full article from the capital news:
By Shelley Nicholl
Staff Reporter
May 31 2006
Plans to put in 16-storey apartments at the Capri Centre Mall got sidetracked Monday, but weren't completely kicked off the books.
City councillors felt the proposal by the mall owner to add residential towers to the property had merit, they just didn't agree on where they should go or how high they should be.
"I like the residential with commercial," said Coun. Robert Hobson, "But I'm not necessarily in favour of the configuration."
The majority of councillors decided it was best to gather a few more details before allowing the application to go further to a public hearing.
Representing the applicant, Kim McKechnie said after the decision, "It was a turndown of the methodology, not really a turn down of the concept."
But she was confident things were going in the right direction.
The owner of the property is looking at doing a redevelopment of the area to put in possibly five residential towers, three along Gordon Drive and two on Capri Street, and to add an expanded food store along Sutherland Avenue.
What the owner needed from council was the ability to go up to 16 storeys to build the towers.
City staff recommended council turn down that idea. Development services manager Andrew Bruce explained that the mall was not situated on an urban town centre, where high rises are generally preferred.
"It's not identified as an urban centre and allowing tall buildings anywhere on this site, up to 16 storeys, would not accomplish the downtown strategies we're encouraging at this time," he said.
As it stands, the property owner, Prospero Canadian Land Investment Fund, could put in housing up to four storeys in the area without any changes to the zoning. In urban centres, however, 16 storeys are allowed and along the highway urban centre, 12 storeys are permitted.
But councillors got into a debate on how the property should actually be developed. Hobson said it would be better to have the taller buildings in the centre of the area and the lower buildings on the outskirts as more of a buffer to the single-family areas on one side.
McKechnie later noted that the mall was in the centre of the property and reconfiguring that wasn't likely.
But councillors agreed to send the proposal back to the planning department to look at the possibility of creating a comprehensive development zoning at the mall. This would mean the owner would have to come up with a complete design before it is approved.
McKechnie said the owner wasn't interested in that idea because the zoning already allowed the uses the owners were looking at. The only piece that was the problem was the height restriction.
Bruce said the concern with just allowing the height change was that it was stuck to the zoning and the city would have no control over where the buildings went.
However, with a comprehensive development zone, it might restrict the shopping centre to change in the future.
www.kelownacapnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=113&cat=23&id=659965&more=
Here is the full article from the capital news:
By Shelley Nicholl
Staff Reporter
May 31 2006
Plans to put in 16-storey apartments at the Capri Centre Mall got sidetracked Monday, but weren't completely kicked off the books.
City councillors felt the proposal by the mall owner to add residential towers to the property had merit, they just didn't agree on where they should go or how high they should be.
"I like the residential with commercial," said Coun. Robert Hobson, "But I'm not necessarily in favour of the configuration."
The majority of councillors decided it was best to gather a few more details before allowing the application to go further to a public hearing.
Representing the applicant, Kim McKechnie said after the decision, "It was a turndown of the methodology, not really a turn down of the concept."
But she was confident things were going in the right direction.
The owner of the property is looking at doing a redevelopment of the area to put in possibly five residential towers, three along Gordon Drive and two on Capri Street, and to add an expanded food store along Sutherland Avenue.
What the owner needed from council was the ability to go up to 16 storeys to build the towers.
City staff recommended council turn down that idea. Development services manager Andrew Bruce explained that the mall was not situated on an urban town centre, where high rises are generally preferred.
"It's not identified as an urban centre and allowing tall buildings anywhere on this site, up to 16 storeys, would not accomplish the downtown strategies we're encouraging at this time," he said.
As it stands, the property owner, Prospero Canadian Land Investment Fund, could put in housing up to four storeys in the area without any changes to the zoning. In urban centres, however, 16 storeys are allowed and along the highway urban centre, 12 storeys are permitted.
But councillors got into a debate on how the property should actually be developed. Hobson said it would be better to have the taller buildings in the centre of the area and the lower buildings on the outskirts as more of a buffer to the single-family areas on one side.
McKechnie later noted that the mall was in the centre of the property and reconfiguring that wasn't likely.
But councillors agreed to send the proposal back to the planning department to look at the possibility of creating a comprehensive development zoning at the mall. This would mean the owner would have to come up with a complete design before it is approved.
McKechnie said the owner wasn't interested in that idea because the zoning already allowed the uses the owners were looking at. The only piece that was the problem was the height restriction.
Bruce said the concern with just allowing the height change was that it was stuck to the zoning and the city would have no control over where the buildings went.
However, with a comprehensive development zone, it might restrict the shopping centre to change in the future.
www.kelownacapnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=113&cat=23&id=659965&more=