Salmon Arm’s Technology Brewing Inc. is hoping a municipal zoning change will help grow the city’s reputation as a provincial hub of high-tech industry.
The company is in the middle of having its property at 2960 Okanagan Ave. (the former school district property north of Shuswap Middle School) redesignated and rezoned and, in doing so, wants to capture the spirit of the community’s recent branding effort (Salmon Arm: Small City, Big Ideas) and related marketing strategy by having a zone created for the property that would highlight the city’s high-tech sector.
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“The intention behind that was not to have a specific zone for this property, but to have a high-tech branding that’s going to help economic development leverage what we know is already going on here,” Technology Brewing’s Mike Boudreau told city council. “We’ve got more high-tech per capita than almost anywhere in the province in Salmon Arm here, but it’s a well-hidden secret. It’s time to expose that secret, and having this type of zoning will help do that.”
In addition to having the property redesignated from Institutional to Neighbourhood Commercial, the company is also seeking a zone with the words “high-tech” in the title.
Through some “on-the-fly” regulation making, city development and planning services director Kevin Pearson offered the creation of a Section 24, C10, High-Tech Research and Development zone that would apply specifically to the 2960 Okanagan property, adding the use could be applied to other commercial zones, as well as to the city’s industrial and light industrial zones.
Related: Salmon Arm – ‘Small city, big ideas’ brand approved
“I’m trying to appease the applicant here as best as I can while keeping a zoning bylaw a zoning bylaw,” said Pearson.
Council supported the new zoning as an amendment to the previously prescribed CD-19 (comprehensive development) zone, and approved second reading on both amended zone and the OCP redesignation.
“I really appreciated the director of development services allowing us flexibility in working through something I think is better, it’s an improvement,” commented Coun. Alan Harrison. “For right now, adding the use “high-technology research and development” to C3, C6 and light industrial zones I think is a fantastic idea. It’s not related to what we’re talking about right this second but I’d love to see that as well. But I think the amendment makes sense.”
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