Two unrelated proposed buildings could bring close to 100 new residential units to Salmon Arm.
At its Monday, Oct. 7 meeting, the city's development and planning services committee voted unanimously in support of applications for the two developments to proceed to council.
The first application was for a development permit, with requested variances, to construct a four-storey apartment building with 19 units on a vacant lot at 231 7th Street SE.
The developer wishes to vary the maximum building height from 15 metres (49.2 feet) to 16 m (52.5 ft), and increase the retaining wall height from two to four metres (13.1 ft). The front of the building will face 7th, and the site will offer limited above-ground parking along with a parking garage to be accessed from the lane that runs to the rear of the property.
According to staff, with the exception of the variances, the proposal meets existing zoning requirements and aligns with the Residential Development Permit Area guidelines in the official community plan (OCP).
Mayor Alan Harrison called the location "absolutely perfect" for the proposed development.
To accommodate the second proposed development, a six-storey rental apartment building on adjacent properties at 821 and 861 28th Street NE (located east of Rogers Rink), the committee received two connected applications, one for a zoning bylaw amendment and the other for a development variance permit.
Currently, the north lot (861) is vacant while the south lot has a single-family residence. Plans for both, according to a document submitted by the project's design team, include rezoning them from C3 (service commercial) to C6 (tourist/recreational commercial) and consolidating them to support a six-storey "wood-frame residential program," with 73 purpose-built rental units with a mix of one and two bedrooms. Of the 29 one-bedroom units, the majority will have an additional den space.
Parking is proposed to be broken up into 35 below-ground stalls and 82 at surface level.
One of two commercial spaces at ground level will serve as a regional office for the property manager (Veryon Properties Ltd.), while the second will be a semi-private "work café" for residents, "in recognition of the global and local trends towards remote working…"
Requested variances for this development were to increase the allowable building height from 19 to 20 metres, and the retaining wall height from two to 3.8 metres.
City staff had no concern with the variances, and noted the subject parcel is well suited for C6 zoning which is consistent with the OCP.
There will be no public hearing for the zoning amendment, which is expected to be on the Oct. 28 council meeting agenda for first, second and third reading.
Coun. Kevin Flynn called all of the applications "exciting" and said the latter's location made sense.