The proposed Hilltop Manor project at 4001 34A Street. (image courtesy of the City of Vernon)

By Liam Verster

Voted down by council

Back to the drawing board for proposed Hilltop Manor project

Nov 9, 2021 | 11:45 AM

A proposed new apartment building in Vernon’s Alexis Park neighbourhood has been shot down following lengthy public input at Monday’s city council meeting.

GTA Architecture, on behalf of the owners of the property at 4001 34A Street, had applied for three development variances in order to build a new four and a half story apartment building at the site.

The proposed building, which would have accommodated 29 one and two bedroom rental units, required the rear yard setback be reduced from nine metres to 1.7 metres for the building wall and cantilever balconies; vary the minimum west side yard setback for the parkade and first floor deck from four and a half to one metre; and to vary the number of required off-street parking spaces for residents from 40 to 33 spaces.

The building would be constructed on the west side of the property where an unused green space exists, and the variances were needed in order to establish the project’s footprint.

While the presentation was being made to council, approximately 18 neighbourhood residents gathered outside City Hall, waiting their turn to voice concerns with the project.

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Following the presentation, three emails opposed to the project were received by council as well as a petition, and then the meeting turned to the in-person public input session.

Nine disgruntled residents took their turns at the podium to express their concerns with the proposed project. Some noted that the site would require blasting, creating a safety hazard for the neighbours; some said the slope is unstable due to clay; and others were concerned that the infrastructure in the area was old and there would be a risk of damaging water mains in the building process and then have additional strain put on the system once the building was operational.

There was also a lot of concern expressed by the public about the use of the back alley in the area, which they stated was used by everyone from school kids to residents to people out for walks, and that the rear yard setback variance would lead to that alley access being hindered.

Another concern was about street parking, as many residents have noted that the area already has a parking problem on 34A Street. This discussion came despite administration saying the parking at the lot of the existing apartment building on the property was already under used at 0.78 spaces per unit, and that the creation of new spaces would increase that supply to 1.14 spaces. Council suggested the street parking issues may have to do with illegal suites in the area, and noted that further work to address that issue would have to be explored at another time.

Some of the residents also expressed concern with their privacy if a new building were to be erected at the site, though council did note that the zoning of property would allow for a four and a half storey building to go there at any time without council approval if it would fit in the existing development framework, and any new build would create some light and noise pollution and take away from a person’s privacy.

After roughly 50 minutes of presentations from the public, council put it to a vote.

Councillor Akbal Mund noted that the proposed plan “just doesn’t fit,” and voted against the project.

Councillor Scott Anderson said that while traffic increases, loss of green space and reduced privacy are part of any new development, he also noted would effect the character of the neighbourhood, and with the amount of people expressing concern, he voted against the project.

Councillor Kelly Fehr said he could approve the plan if the building specifically included affordable units, but as that was not part of the proposal, he voted it down.

Councillor Kari Gares said there were parking concerns all over the city, and as they were at a crossroads of public opposition versus the need for new housing and rental options in the city, she voted in favour of granting the variances.

Councillor Brian Quiring noted that building on that property is allowed under the current zoning bylaw, but the proposed plan required the variances. He specifically voted against the variance granting the reduction of the minimum yard set back on the west side of the property, but did not have any issue with the other variances.

Mayor Victor Cumming agreed with Gares that the street parking was a non-issue in this case but should be looked at further at another time. He did not approve the west side or the rear yard setback variances and voted against the proposed plan.

Following the meeting, Cumming spoke with Vernon Matters, where he said it was good to see so many concerned citizens express their position in the council chamber.

“Clearly having people come to express their views is really, really critical to the process, and many did, and many articulated really good things, and obviously this particular development on that site did not meet what was required by council, and was therefore defeated,” Cumming explained.

He noted that the plans for that site are going back to the drawing board. The architecture firm cannot return with the exact same plan asking for the exact same variances for at least six months, but they can come forward with a new proposal.

“I hope they’ve heard from council that cutting into the side yard is not going to be supported, that was very clear, and in general they’re going to have to review their interest in cutting so far into the rear yard.”

Cumming also noted that while the project did not specify any price points and made no mention of affordable units, there is somewhat of a balance that needs to be found to address the lack of housing and rental options in the city while also meeting the neighbourhood’s needs.

“We are in dire need of rental properties, across all price points, and rental properties that come on right now in Vernon that are modest or medium priced or full market priced have filled rapidly,” said Cumming. “So we are in short supply across the full price spectrum.”

Cumming added he hopes the architects heard the public’s input clearly and take those concerns into consideration moving forward with future development on this and other properties in Vernon.