Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / Property at 9023 Nowell Street is shown, a vacant lot.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Proposed development in Chilliwack

City of Chilliwack staff urge council to reject rezoning application for proposed 7-storey development at Fourth/Nowell

Jul 16, 2024 | 10:05 AM

CHILLIWACK — City of Chilliwack staff are urging Chilliwack council to deny an amendment to the Official Community Plan and a related rezoning application connected to a proposed seven-storey, mixed-use development at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Nowell Street, east of Young Road, in Chilliwack.

At the June 18th meeting of Chilliwack council, an application to amend the 2040 Official Community Plan (OCP) designation for four properties near Fourth Avenue and Nowell Street from “Residential 1- Downtown Single Family” to “Urban Quarter”, and to rezone the properties from an R1-A (Urban Residential) Zone to a C9 (Mid Rise Apartment Commercial) zone to facilitate a mixed-use commercial and residential development was sent back to staff to clarify the number of storeys to be constructed, ownership structure of the units and construction timelines.

The properties are officially listed as 9011 and 9023 Nowell Street and 46068 and 46074 Fourth Avenue. The four properties, as listed in B.C. Assessment public records available online, are contiguous and are over 28,000 square feet combined.

Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / A broader look at the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue/Nowell Street where the proposed 7-storey development is being considered.

The applicant, listed as Precision Design Building Associates Ltd., has since responded and told city staff that they intend to construct the development as proposed at a height of seven storeys, or 24.5 metres (80 feet). The applicant has agreed to register a restrictive covenant on title to limit future development of the property to the maximum height and density as outlined in the C9 Zone (250 du/ha and 25-metre height). As part of the covenant, the applicant has also agreed to include a requirement that frontage improvements be completed from the subject properties to Young Road along Fourth Avenue as agreed upon at the Design Review Advisory Committee meeting.

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Image: Precision Building Design Associates Ltd. via City of Chilliwack / Renderings showing different angles of the proposed 64-unit, mixed use development being envisioned for the corner of Fourth Avenue and Nowell Street in Chilliwack.

The City says the applicant has confirmed the building will be stratified with individual units to be sold rather than maintained as a rental development as the financing for the project is contingent on the units being sold once constructed. Further, the applicant says it intends to submit a building permit application within a year of development permit issuance if council approves the application. The applicant has confirmed construction will commence once an appropriate level of pre-sales has been completed.

The proposed development calls for a single-storey parkade with a nine-level car elevator, one at-grade commercial unit, six residential floors above the at-grade parkade/commercial unit, 64 units including 18 small-unit apartments and 46 standard apartment units, 96 parking spaces, and 18 trees.

However, city staffer Adam Roberts wrote in his staff report in June 2024 that an Official Community Plan amendment and rezoning application are not supported because the mixed-use development does not align with the goals and objectives of the Downtown Land Use and Development Plan (DLUDP), and is better suited within existing underdeveloped land in the core area of downtown.

According to Roberts, the DLUDP land uses and policies best position commercial and higher density mixed-use development within the core area to ensure there is a sensitive transition between lower and higher density development. This mixed-use development, as proposed, detracts from the urban quarter land use goals of concentrated density, he said, and does not facilitate what he believes is more appropriate ground-oriented infill housing in this area.

Roberts also referenced likely conflicts if a multi-level storey development were proposed in an area that is largely industrial to the south and east of the properties.

“In addition to the significant departure to the residential character in the area, the proposed increase in density is likely to exacerbate potential land use conflicts generated from the close proximity of existing industrial uses to the subject properties,” Roberts said. “As such, the proposed development is considered incompatible with the adjacent industrial area, and if approved, it is expected that conflict will occur between the existing industrial businesses and future residential tenants which will necessitate ongoing bylaw enforcement intervention.”

Even before the June 18th council meeting, Precision Building Design Associates Ltd. was aware that City staff had recommended that their OCP amendment and rezoning application as presented be denied, but wanted to proceed without staff support. Two councillors on the city’s Design Review Advisory Committee, Chris Kloot and Bud Mercer, were supportive of the housing proposal as presented, particularly in light of the forced mandate from the province ordering more housing within the city of Chilliwack, even though Chilliwack was the second-fastest growing community in all of Canada between 2016 and 2021.