Kimberley city council has approved a development permit for eight new long-term rental homes at 101 Sullivan Dr.
The project includes two four-unit buildings with four one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units.
The buildings will use wildfire-resistant materials and lighting designed to reduce glare and minimize light pollution. The homes will range from about 578 to 1,184 square feet.
Planning Services Manager Troy Pollock said the plans include 10 vehicle parking spaces, 14 secure bicycle parking spaces and e-scooter stalls.
“The units will be very similar to the project that’s just across the street at 100 Sullivan Dr. but some minor design tweaks to suit the site and some of the lessons learned from that site have been incorporated into this project,” said Pollock. “There is an onsite parking area for 10 vehicle parking spaces as well as the 14 secure bicycle parking spaces all of which complies with the zoning bylaw. Firesmart cladding roofing plan, dark sky compliant lighting plan. Everything is good on the bylaw compliance side.”
Pollock said the project meets all zoning rules and bylaws, including one-meter no-go zone for construction work.
“It’s quite a large site so there’s going to be quite a large kind of existing landscaped area, some existing trees to remain on the site, and some steep slope area that will be avoided,” he added. “Some council may recall there’s kind of a protective tree buffer offset from the lane, 50 m off the lane side behind Fifth Avenue, and all the construction there will be set back one meter from that covenant area so that it will be well protected.”
According to Kimberley’s housing needs report, a limited supply of long-term rental housing and high demand continue to present challenges for the city. The project will provide additional rental housing to help address that need. The mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units is intended to accommodate individuals, couples and small families while adding little additional traffic or demand on city services.
“This application had been made very early in the year here and we’ve been waiting on feedback from the proponents on their servicing capacity analysis and that report has now come through,” said Pollock. “It’s been reviewed by the team, and we’re all satisfied with that. There will be no problem connecting in with the planned utility connections here that went in at the start of development.”
Before construction, the developer must receive a building permit and follow requirements related to wildfire safety, slope hazards, tree protection, parking, recycling and site access. Pollock requested the permit be approved so they can move the building process forward.
He noted that minor disturbances can be expected but the city will be keeping an eye on construction.
“There’s likely to be some minor disturbance in there as construction proceeds but the kind of thing that we will be monitoring and making sure that that’s repaired.” said Pollock.
Council’s approval supports the city’s community planning objectives and is expected to increase the supply of long-term rental housing.
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