The projected start date for construction of the SmartCentres shopping development in Salmon Arm has come and gone, one factor in the delay being a Salmon Arm staple – snow.
In July, when the majority of city council approved development permit applications for the shopping centre, Nathan Hildebrand, SmartCentres’ land development manager, said he hoped construction would begin in early August, with a grand opening date of Nov. 15, 2012.
When the development permits were approved, one was contingent upon approvals from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. At that time city staff said the ministry hadn’t yet approved the development plan because additional road right-of-way could be required.
A check with city staff last week confirmed that approvals have still not been forthcoming.
Carl Bannister, the city’s chief administrative officer, said he believes the ministry will require more road dedication than was shown in the development permit. He said it’s now up to SmartCentres to decide how to deal with it.
“They could of course show additional widening and redo their site plan so that it accommodates that. I do expect it will need to come back to council. That’s my opinion at this point.”
Hildebrand could not be reached for comment. In July, he said the ministry’s lack of approval came as a surprise, because his company had been showing them the same site plans for months.
“They read our drawings inappropriately so they thought they were getting more right of way than they were,” he told a July meeting of the city’s development and planning services committee.
The Observer received an email Friday from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in response to questions regarding approvals.
Stated Kate Trotter with the ministry’s communications department: “The ministry needs to ensure that there is a sufficient buffer between the proposed structure and Highway 1 to accommodate highway maintenance, such as snow-ploughing.
The ministry has been discussing this with the proponent and made sure city staff were informed.”
Mayor Marty Bootsma had remarked in July that although Hildebrand had mentioned that a SmartCentres development in the Lower Mainland with similar setbacks had been approved by the ministry, in Salmon Arm the ministry needs room to put snow.