Penticton’s council will hear a proposal for another five-story building; this time on Front Street.
The development would slot into the gap next to the Lloyd Gallery, with commercial space on the first floor and residential spaces on the upper levels.
This is the second time the proposal is being brought to council, after council decided following the public hearing in February 2019 to deny the application at that time based on community feedback.
Since then, the city has brought in a new Official Community Plan, and the developer has made adjustments to the proposal to account for some of the feedback.
It will be up to the city council to decide on June 15 whether to go forward with considering the requested development variance for five stories.
If council approves, it will go to a public hearing on July 19, before returning to council for a final decision on the variance.
Council has previously granted similar variances, including the five-storey affordable housing development on the 600 Block of Main Street. Similar to that request, the Front Street development would change the max height of the building by just over two meters, from 15 to 17.1 metres, to allow for five storeys instead of three.
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The proposal to the council cites the five-storey apartment complex at 135 Front Street as an example of similar height buildings in the area
With the Front Street project, if the variance is approved, the final design of the building would still need to be brought back to the city along with a request for a development permit.
City staff’s recommendations for the request are for council to consider whether any additional consultation would be required and to move to take the proposal to a public hearing.
The M’akola Housing Society’s project on Main Street saw many in the community express their concerns over the five-storeys and the exception to the OCP.
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