Preliminary approval received for development

Summerland council gave preliminary approval Monday to a bylaw amendment required for a proposed downtown commercial-residential development.

The two legal lots — 12817 and 12801 Kelly Ave. — have a combined total area of 76,000 square feet and are located between Brown and Wharton streets.

The properties had been zoned comprehensive development specifically for a previous proposed development, director of development services Corine Gain told council.

But a new mixed-use zone would accommodate both the currently proposed development and “be available to others for similar types of development within the downtown area,” Gain explained.

The new zoning would clear the way for a fourstorey mixed-use building with 88 housing units to be rented at market rates and 4,200 square feet of commercial space.

The one-, two- and three-bedroom units are expected to appeal to a variety of residents — students, seniors, families and professionals.

The proposed development includes underground and surface parking, landscape features by roadways, and a public plaza area adjacent to the intersection of Wharton Street and Kelly Avenue.

Vehicle parking is a minimum of one space per residential unit and one space of visitor parking for every 10 units.

There is usually a parking space assigned per number of bedrooms per unit, not per unit, so that two and three-bedroom units would have two and three spaces, respectively, Gain told council.

The district expects the development to act as a catalyst for growth and development by increasing the number of residents living, working and shopping downtown.

Seymour Pacific Developments Ltd. is slated to construct the building and Broadstreet Properties Ltd. to manage the rental units. The companies have been active in Penticton, with projects on Duncan and Kinney avenues.

A public hearing on the zoning amendment will be held on Sept. 24.