A new housing development could be coming to Columbia Park.
The Revelstoke Golf Course Townhouses proposal was in front of City Council on Feb. 27 and will be heading for a public hearing after first and second readings were approved to amend the Official Community Plan and to rezone the three properties on Columbia Park Drive. A development permit for the project was also supported.
In a report to council, City Planner Daniel Sturgeon outlines the nine-townhouse proposal for 131, 135 and 141 Columbia Park Drive.
There are currently homes at 131 and 141 Columbia Park Drive, while the third address is an empty lot. The applicants, Vic Van Isle Construction are proposing to demolish the structure at the 141 address and to subdivide the 131 address to allow the current house to stay, while allowing space to build the infill.
The proposed 0.98 acre build site backs out onto the Revelstoke Golf Course and would feature nine semi-detached townhouse units with separate entrances in two buildings.
“It provides an alternative housing form that will integrate into the existing building stock while gently increasing density and respecting the scale of buildings in the surrounding area,” Sturgeon’s report said. “Infill housing is essential to the City’s goals of creating more affordavle housing options.”
There are “well-established single family” homes to the south and east of the development and a townhouse complex to the north.
The proposed units would range in size from 2,630 sq. feet for a five-bedroom unit to 2,088- 2,312 sq. feet for a three-bedroom unit.
One five-bedroom unit, four four-bedroom and a den units, and four three-bedroom units are planned. Double-car garages are proposed for each unit with an additional three parking stalls for visitors.
A landscaping plan was submitted with the proposal, which includes planting 17 trees around the property.
City Council was supportive of the proposal.
Acting Mayor Connie Brothers asked about how many people could legally live in the units.
Nigel Whitehead, the City of Revelstoke’s director of development services clarified that with the zoning, one family could occupy each unit. Or three people who were not related.
However he said it is a challenge to enforce, especially in resort communities.
“You can imagine the difficulty in enforcing such a thing,” Whitehead said during his presentation.
He also said that boarding was permitted and two to five people could be rented to and live in the unit in addition to a family. Boarding houses are regulated with business licenses.
Councillor Scott Duke was supportive of the project and didn’t anticipate there being a problem with overcrowding in the new units.
“I think that three-bedroom houses are what we need most in the community right now because it hits that price point that families can actually afford it and higher density is going to be really good,” he said. “This infill overall is a fantastic project.”
View more renderings of the project online.
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marissa.tiel@revelstokereview.com
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