Image: City of Chilliwack / Chilliwack council approved the form and character of a contemporary new dental surgery building on a vacant piece of property (pictured in red above) on Young Road, not far from City Hall, at its meeting on Tuesday, June 4. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Dental clinic on Young Road

Chilliwack council approves development permit for a new dental surgery building on Young Road

Jun 6, 2024 | 6:30 AM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack council Tuesday (June 4) approved the form and character for a splashy new dental clinic on Young Road not far from City Hall.

According to a city staff report from senior planner Adam Roberts, the development consists of a three-storey commercial building featuring a unique, modern design on a vacant 0.8-acre lot at 8460 Young Road.

Architectural specifications call for 127m² (1,367 square feet) of commercial space on the ground floor and 1,012m² (10,893 square feet) of dental surgery office space within the two upper storeys, along with a rooftop employee amenity area, four bicycle parking spaces and 25 trees, eight of which are required.

Roberts wrote in his staff report that the design of the building and site is not only visually appealing but also represents a significant improvement to the site and area, which has been a vacant lot for years.

Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / The vacant lot at 8460 Young Road where a new dental surgery clinic will be built.

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The city’s Design Review Advisory Committee reviewed the proposed commercial building at its meeting on December 12, 2023 and recommended that a detailed lighting plan be submitted before a building permit is issued; that all ground level utility equipment be screened from public view through installation of landscaping fencing or vinyl wrapping; and that an irrigation system be included in the landscaped areas.

Image: Surf Architecture via City of Chilliwack / Renderings for the proposed dental surgery clinic at 8460 Young Road in Chilliwack.

Councillor Jason Lum praised the project for making use of a challenging property with a riparian habitat setback, and for adding more access to dental surgeons in Chilliwack. He did seek clarity from staff as to why an irrigation system was mandated by the Design Review Advisory Committee.

Erin Leary, manager of development planning for the City of Chilliwack, advised Councillor Lum that the Design Review Advisory Committee has noted concerns about the longevity of landscaping on site, while saying the landscape architect and the committee have endorsed providing irrigation systems to maintain all landscaping throughout the site in good condition in perpetuity.

Councillor Bud Mercer said mandating an irrigation system would help the city avoid what’s happening to landscaping on the grounds of Molson Coors.

“We just don’t want any new businesses going up and ending up like Molson, where we have had to bother them every month to cut their lawns, water trees and clean their weeds,” Mercer said. “That was the recommendation that came out of the landscape architect. She advocates firmly, very firmly, with all the builders to use drought-resistant type plantings.”

Councillor Nicole Read said she recalls riding her bike to a corner store on the property at 8460 Young Road, and wondered what would become of the old “Mark’s Deli” sign.

“The [new] building [design] looks beautiful,” Councillor Read said. “It looks like it will be a great addition to that area. So nice to see something happening there.”

Mayor Ken Popove added, “I think it’s going to be a beautiful building. It’s about time. It looks great.”