Council approves six-storey building on Ellis Street
Penticton city council has approved tearing down a small home to allow for the construction of a six-storey apartment building that includes eight residential units and a commercial space at a property on Ellis Street in the downtown.
The project, which was supported unanimously by members of council, will feature eight dwelling units on the upper five floors and commercial space on the first floor proposed for 457 Ellis St.
Council heard Tuesday that the applicant, Cal Meiklejohn, has asked for a variance to increase the number of permitted small car parking spaces, allowing for an increase in small car spaces from 25 per cent of the provided off-street parking to 75 per cent to allow a maximum of three small parking space on the property.
The property is currently home to a small residential home, which will be tore down to allow for the development, said Tamminga.
The surrounding area is primarily commercial buildings with close proximity to the downtown core, where this is a mixture of residential and commercial spaces.
This development will provide access to a variety of services such as schools, shops, restaurants and transportation options, such as bicycle lanes and bus routes.
The applicant is responsible for all development costs, including any service upgrades and payment of development charges to help offset the added demand on city services from this project.
The applicant has also provided private bicycle parking for residents, encouraging them to seek out alternative and sustainable forms of transportation in the downtown.
An electric vehicle space will also be provided for each dwelling unit.
The city’s official community plan allows for this site to be classified urban residential, which supports higher density apartment developments in this area.
Staff consider this application appropriate in scale and size as the community plan encourages development in areas that are close to shops services and public transportation.
The development will be higher than neighbouring buildings and, as a result, have thoughtfully designed the project to reduce visual impact as the building will have a series of painted mural patterns on two sides of the building.
The city has been mandated to update their zoning bylaws by the end of June to allow for up to four units on any single family dwelling or duplex.
Staff do not anticipate any negative impacts on the surrounding area and neighbouring properties as a result of this project, said the staff report.
Peachland’s water supply will be in good shape until at least 2070 or 2080, town engineers say.
A study by Urban Systems, conducted at a cost of $80,000, has determined there are no foreseeable significant challenges to the system as a result of climate change.
“Modelling showed that climate change and losses will impact the water reservoir by increasing the frequency and duration of low levels. Climate projections indicate that freshet flows will begin earlier and attain lower peak values in the future,” reads part of the report’s summary.
“However, the main threat to the reservoir is municipal growth, not climate change or high losses,” states the report, to be considered tonight by town council.
Based on long-range population growth scenarios, which the report acknowledges are based on considerable uncertainty, and predictions on the condition of the water system in decades to come, concerns about the reservoir’s possible failure would develop in the 2070s or 2080s, the report states.
But between now then, Peachland has plenty of time to manage the water system through a variety of measures, the report says.
These include encouraging more water conservation, setting higher water rates to discourage consumption for landscaping purposes, increasing the size of the reservoir, and drawing water from Okanagan Lake, as used to be done, to supplement the current creek-fed water system.
The introduction of water meters dramatically reduced overall water use in the town. From 2000 to 2009, total annual demand averaged about 3,100 megalitres. That fell to just over 2,000 megalitres in 2010, but demand has risen steadily since then, reaching 3,800 in 2021.