Image: Google Maps / An application to rezone 10195 Williams Road (centre of picture, not on the left), and 46193 Strathcona Road (just to the right of it and nestled in the back) and build eight lots on two existing single-family residential lots has been rejected unanimously by Chilliwack City Council following heavy opposition from Fairfield Island neighbours, citing increased parking, traffic, and the adverse impacts of potentially 16 vehicles and more coming from just two lots, assuming two cars per home.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Fairfield Island rezoning application

Chilliwack City Council rejects Fairfield Island rezoning application after heavy opposition from neighbours

Mar 9, 2023 | 2:11 PM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack City Council has voted to reject a rezoning application that would have converted two single-family lots into an eight-lot subdivision on an already busy street in Fairfield Island.

Council voted unanimously at its meeting Tuesday evening (Mar. 7) to reject the rezoning application for 46193 Strathcona Road and 10195 Williams Road after receiving a petition with 43 signatures and six emails opposing the application.

Fairfield Island-area residents said the eight-lot subdivision would result in increased traffic and parking constraints in the area, reduce their privacy due to maximum height buildings of 8.5 metres from the development, transform the very nature of the community marked by a quiet, rural feel with large residential lots, increase noise pollution, and generate well over 16 vehicles from just two residential lots, assuming two cars per home.

In their petition submitted to city staff, neighbours in the area also said the proposed development would be incongruent with the existing aesthetics of the area, increase potential for crime and illegal activities, decrease air quality, increase traffic congestion, reduce mountain views, and diminish road safety and road access.

Councillor Harv Westeringh declared a conflict of interest as a member of his family owned one of the two lots involved in the rezoning application.

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Jesse Rayner of JCR Design Ltd. represented the applicant. He said extensive public engagement was conducted, particularly when it become apparent that the nearby neighbourhood became concerned.

“This application had a lot of feedback from the neighbourhood,” Rayner told council members. “We personally held two open houses and offered opportunities for the neighbourhood to come see us.”

Its first engagement was within a 30-metre radius, while a second level of engagement was extended to a 100-metre radius of the proposed development.

Image: JCR Designs Ltd. / A rendering of the homes that would have been built at 10195 Williams Road and 46193 Stratchona Road had Chilliwack City Council approved a rezoning application for the two properties. Instead, council unanimously rejected the application to build eight homes on two single-family lots in Fairfield Island.

Once news of the rezoning application circulated within the neighbourhood, however, an avalanche of opposition emerged.

The city received 43 signatures and six emails in opposition, in addition to repeated speakers at Tuesday’s council meeting who cited traffic and parking concerns.

Once it became clear that nearby neighbours would be adversely impacted by the development, city councillors seemed to follow suit in their opposition.

“Like most of council, I’ve lived most of my life here in Chilliwack,” said Councillor Jeff Shields. “I grew up 2 blocks off Fairfield Island, and I lived in Fairfield Island in the 1990s. I can sympathize with all the current residents. I look at that particular corner and I see a beautiful lot. I see a 3/4 acre lot and a 1/3 acre lot that could really be a nice little gem for somebody in there with a coach house. It would be perfect for generations in there, whether it be grandparents or a kid trying to get in there. I don’t see where eight houses need to go into that corner, so I will not be supporting this application.”

Councillor Chris Kloot said he recognized the need for more housing starts in Chilliwack, but said not every rezoning proposal is an automatic yes.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not super excited when we look at some of these proposals that come before us,” said Kloot, a realtor and farmer. “So we have a duty and obligation to absorb growth because of the constraints of our community (rivers, mountains). I think the neighbourhood has spoken here this evening as well as provided input for us to consider in writing. I think what I’ve heard is, it’s just too dense of a development. How do we get quality versus quantity?”

Kloot said he encouraged the applicant to come forward with a reduced scope of development that will blend in better with the existing neighbourhood. But he offered a cautionary bit of advice for Fairfield Island residents.

“A word of caution to the neighbourhood: something will happen with this 1.10 acre property,” Kloot said. “It might not be eight houses, it might be five houses and five coach houses. I would encourage the neighbourhood to keep an open dialogue with the applicant and I’m sure that together we can achieve a project that everybody can live with and be happy with. I do thank the applicant for the rigorous engagement they did.”

Mayor Ken Popove added, “It’s gotta fit and it’s gotta work. I feel like the rest of council. It’s just too much in that area. As Councillor Kloot alluded to, it could be four single detached homes with four carriage [homes]. I like the idea of generational. I do applaud Mr. Rayner for doing his due diligence. I certainly hope that other developers will look to how he has treated himself and the neighbourhood because that’s very important to us.”