The proposed upgrades to the Fourth/Victoria/Townley intersection will need grant funding to go ahead, said Mayor Mark McKee.
“I think it’s going to be an exciting project if we can get the approval,” he said during last week’s council meeting. “I think it’s pretty obvious that without getting the level of funding, this project is going to be a long way off.”
The City of Revelstoke is applying for a $5.8 million grant from the Gas Tax Strategic Priorities Fund to build a roundabout in the intersection and replace the sewer and water lines beneath the ground.
Mike Thomas, the city’s director of engineering, said fixing this intersection was the second highest priority in the city’s draft transportation plan, after the highway intersection. He said the intersection provides access to commercial and industrial areas in town and that the city has support for the project from the Ministry of Transportation.
Thomas said he’s spoken to the Union of BC Municipalities, which administers the fund. “One of the points with this is it’s almost a quarter of our annual budget,” he told council. “It’s a huge project for us to be undertaking.”
He said CP Rail agreed the design meets their requirements. “We don’t have an agreement for the land yet,” he said. “There’s certainly still a ways to go to do a land transfer and work out how much land exactly.”
If funding is received, construction could begin next year.
Zoning bylaw amendment will allow basements, legally
The City of Revelstoke is moving to clean up a quirk in its zoning bylaw that doesn’t allow people to build homes with two storeys and a basement, but some people are left waiting to build in the meantime.
A staff report by Nigel Whitehead, the city’s director of development services, says the current zoning bylaw allows building that are 2.5-storeys high, but it defines a half-storey as an attic crawl space.
The amendment will make it so a basement that doesn’t go more than two metres above ground will count as a half-storey.
“What this would allow is a standard two-storey home with a basement and a suite,” said Whitehead.
In the past, the planning department took a liberal interpretation of the rule and allowed those types of homes. The Review heard from two people whose new homes are being delayed because the city won’t give out building permits until the bylaw is amended.
A public hearing on the amendment is scheduled for June 13.
Wildlife attractant bylaw adopted
The city’s new wildlife attractant bylaw was adopted by council.
It gives city officials and bylaw enforcement officers the power to go after people who don’t secure attractants like garbage, fruit trees, greasy barbecues, and compost piles.
“It’s not only just up to city council and city hall, it’s up to the whole community to look at what’s happening in their backyard and their neighbourhood,” said Mayor Mark McKee.
Bear Aware applauded the move. “The new Garbage and Wildlife Attractant Bylaw is one step closer to Revelstoke becoming a Bear Smart community and a positive step towards making positive change in Revelstoke,” it stated.