City of Powell River Council has voted in favour of a development permit to facilitate a renovation at Powell River Town Centre to support a new anchor tenant.
At the August 17 city council meeting, manager of planning service Jason Gow said the owner of the mall has proposed exterior work to the north end building that includes façade upgrades, additional landscaping and improvements to vehicle circulation and pedestrian infrastructure.
“This is a site that we’re all familiar with, I’m sure, but the takeaway is this is a large site, about 20 acres, and the size of the development plays into the recommendation from staff,” said Gow.
His recommendation was that the development permit be issued and he said not all development permit guidelines will be met. Issuance of the permit was subject to receipt of the associated security deposit for the required landscaping to the satisfaction of the director of planning services (himself).
“This is a situation where the application does not meet all the development permit guidelines, but staff is recommending approval be granted,” said Gow. “In part, this is because the building and site already exists, and the size of the property makes upgrading substantially unfeasible.
“Instead, the application is proposing upgrades to certain areas of the site. At a future time, if further development is proposed, development would be evaluated against the development permit guidelines in place at that time.”
Gow said this is a piecemeal approach, but it is one that staff supports. He said staff sees the rehabilitation of the mall property as being a multi-phase process, where financial viability, on the part of the owner, will be factored into the decision.
“If we raise the hammer too high, we are probably not going to get any change there at all,” said Gow. “This is a site that needs some change.”
He said as for council approving a development permit where not all guidelines are met, it was at council’s discretion, with the caveat that members are aware of where the proposal falls short of meeting guidelines.
Gow said a new anchor will be going into the mall so it’s a big tenant. He said the proposal is to amalgamate a lot of the interior spaces of the north end of the mall. What was originally an entrance into the mall will be an entrance into the new anchor tenant, according to Gow.
“This requires several changes to the exterior façade and part of that process is revamping the entrances,” said Gow.
This includes the mall entrance to the north, entrances adjacent to Walmart on the east side and adjacent to Subway. There would also be a new standalone entrance created for the BC Liquor Store, which is currently accessed through the north mall entrance.
Loop location
Councillor Earl Almeida asked if the redesign was impacting the current bus loop area at the northern entrance to the mall.
Gow said one of the original submissions from the consultant included a new area for the bus, placing it in a more central location at the mall.
“It’s totally supported by planning staff and will give better access to anchor tenants on either side,” said Gow. “There are ongoing discussions with BC Transit and the owner to try and facilitate a solution. BC Transit and the owner are working through a solution, but unfortunately, it is taking longer than the owner is satisfied with. It’s not finalized at this point.”
Councillor Rob Southcott said a study had been done regarding accessibility in the mall. He said the plans indicated that has been paid attention to, so it is encouraging.
“There is truly a chance to increase accessibility in the whole development,” said Southcott.
Gow said Southcott’s observation was correct.
Councillors unanimously carried the recommendation for the development permit, with conditions.
Southcott asked, specific to trying to move the busing matter forward, if a letter from the mayor would be helpful. Gow said it would. Council carried the motion for correspondence.
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