A long, rocky piece of property at 102 Atkins Rd., wedged in between the Galloping Goose Trail and the E&N railroad tracks, is the subject of a public hearing in View Royal next Tuesday.
The owner of the roughly 1.6-acre parcel near the Six Mile Road end of Atkins is looking for council approval to build nine single family homes in place of the one older home currently on the sprawling piece of land. Doing so first requires changing the zoning from large lot, one-family residential (R-1) to attached residential (mixed density) RM-1. An amendment to the official community plan is also required, to include the property in the Mixed Residential Development Permit Area.
Lindsay Chase, View Royal’s director of development services, said the proposal “is consistent with the (OCP), and the single-family home nature is consistent with all of the other surrounding development.”
Rather than creating nine freehold lots out of one, Chase said, the developer expects to create a form of strata with the existing homeowners.
Under the Town’s detached multiple-unit residential zoning, the homes could be built to a maximum of 2.5 storeys and 3,500 square feet of floor space.
As part of the proposal, Chase said, the developer is offering a financial contribution toward creating pedestrian activated crossing lights at the Galloping Goose crossing at Atkins Road, a busy junction with somewhat limited visibility for traffic on either side of the roadway.
“Future residents of that parcel may well consider commuting by bike,” she said. “It provides a good opportunity to realize some improvements.”
The public hearing gets underway at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17 at the town hall, 45 View Royal Ave. More information on the proposal can be found at the town hall, or by calling 250-479-6800.