Keeping the magic alive is very much on one Revelstoke councillor’s mind.
When Tim Palmer relocated 14 years ago, he was taken with the city’s heritage charm.
Palmer became acquainted with his new home and role as the city’s chief administrative officer by walking throughout the city.
“Though I was unaware then of the work of visionary citizens whose efforts preserved this magical feeling through a protected heritage area, I was mesmerized; I was in love with Revelstoke,” he says, pointing out he is a man obsessed with observing the details that make a community or streetscape special. “Captured by Revelstoke magic that so many others have felt, I couldn’t help but wonder: What is creating the hypnotizing effect?”
While walking through the heritage area, Palmer noticed newer buildings, some replacing demolished heritage properties that, in his mind, “broke the magic.”
Now, in a very different role as a member of City of Revelstoke’s Council, Palmer continues to encourage preservation of the heritage area and has deep concerns about the proposed rehabilitation and construction of an addition at 400 and 404 Mackenzie Avenue – formerly known as the McCarthy House and now called The Copeland.
The developer proposes the addition of a hotel with a ground-floor restaurant, and a variance to the restaurant parking requirements from six to zero.
Following a lengthy debate at a special Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Dec. 14, councillors unanimously approved a recommendation that the issue be deferred, and the applicant be directed to amend its proposal in the following ways: (Instead of a flat roof), provide a pitched roof over the uppermost storey on both additions in accordance with Section 11.5.5 of the Heritage Conservation Area Design Guidelines and that the maximum height of the additions not exceed the height of the existing dwelling as measured from average grade to mid-way point of the existing roofline to ensure that the additions remain subservient to the existing dwelling.
“Although this COW recommendation was passed unanimously, there was discussion regarding protecting the character of the neighbourhood,” Palmer says, noting that he felt the heritage components were watered down and lost in the staff’s council report. “I made the comment that if more specific details are needed we could address them in the council meeting.”
Palmer is concerned that if council permits this development without substantial changes it will permanently scar the visual magic that thousands of residents and visitors experience when strolling from the city centre into the Revelstoke Station Heritage Conservation Area.
While councillors will consider the matter at the Jan. 14 council meeting, Palmer, who has 36 years of experience in creating cohesive communities, is concerned loopholes in the proposal will fail to guarantee protection of the heritage concerns raised by many residents.
He says there were more than 100 people who wrote into council formally expressing concerns and that he heard many more anecdotal comments on the street from people who did not necessarily want to be identified publicly.
Palmer thinks that when so many people express their concerns, there is a very substantial portion of the community outside of the heritage area which shares those misgivings.
“In my opinion, council must provide clearer design guidance to ensure Revelstoke’s heritage magic is preserved,” he says.
