Nanaimo city council denied an application to add more services and employment-focused buildings in Chase River.
At their meeting Monday, April 25, council voted 5-4 against a motion to advance an official community plan amendment application for six properties at the southeast corner of the highway and Maki Road.
The applicant, Joshua Development Corporation, proposed a gas station, drive-thru establishments and a two-storey office building on the north portion of the site and multi-tenant light industrial on the south portion. To address traffic congestion at the intersection, the applicant proposed realigning part of the frontage road to line up with Rona’s access road across the street.
Coun. Jim Turley made the motion to advance the OCP amendment application, against staff’s recommendation. A staff report noted that “the proposed auto-oriented development would promote private vehicle use” and was accompanied by a letter from the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure that indicated that the ministry did not support the application due to traffic concerns.
Ashley Garib, president of Joshua Development Corp., told council that in his dealings with the ministry, he didn’t get the feeling that the proposal was “a dead deal.” He said the project would create “much-needed” employment opportunities, build the city’s tax base, add amenities and improve under-utilized land.
“This is a shovel-ready project,” he said. “This is not speculative. There are committed tenants ready to move forward.”
The Chase River Neighbourhood Association was also in favour of the project due to its potential to create job opportunities in that part of the city, said Dale Porter, speaking on behalf of the association.
Coun. Ian Thorpe was one of the councillors who expressed support for the project, suggesting he wasn’t convinced by city staff’s rationale for recommending council deny the application.
“Since when did we declare war on drive-thrus? We had a discussion about discouraging, but it’s not policy,” Thorpe said, adding he also disagreed with staff recommending against the development for being automobile-oriented.
“Is that saying that any development that’s proposed in our city that might involve private vehicle use is going to be turned down, in a city that’s 14 miles long and two miles wide? I mean, that’s ridiculous,” Thorpe said. “So I really struggle when I see arguments like that.”
Mayor Leonard Krog was also in favour, saying the properties weren’t well-suited to housing being so close to the highway, and suggesting the proposal seemed suitable for that intersection.
“Why should one corner not be essentially the same as the other three corners in terms of commercial development?” he asked.
However, the majority of council preferred staff’s recommendation, saying they were swayed by the ministry of transportation’s assessment and also uncomfortable with the timing of the application.
“I don’t want to approve any amendment to the OCP that exists right now,” said Coun. Zeni Maartman. “I’d like to see this come back in the future after MOTI’s worked it out and when the new official community plan is in place.”
Coun. Tyler Brown said he didn’t see any reason why council needed to advance the OCP amendment application at Monday’s meeting.
“All we would accomplish tonight is further add work for staff [and] uncertainty for the applicant with respect to where their proposal may end up, because you’re amending an OCP that’s being replaced,” he said. “So I do not see how proceeding in any fashion is rational, reasonable or makes sense for any of the parties involved.”
Council voted against advancing the OCP amendment application with councillors Maartman, Brown, Don Bonner, Erin Hemmens and Ben Geselbracht opposed.
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