City of Powell River Council heard a request for a development permit amendment to facilitate construction of a mixed-use aviation park at Powell River Airport.
At the November 17 committee of the whole meeting, director of planning services Thomas Knight said the matter was something the committee reviewed back in January and to which it gave its approval. Knight said following that, all subject conditions were approved and the development permit was issued in April.
He said in January, the way the proposal from Gaoshi Holdings (Canada) Ltd. was presented was that the project was to be done in four stages. What council actually approved was the first stage, he added.
“What facilitated the requirement to do this amendment was our director of properties, development and communications was working with the city consultants with regard to the airport master plan,” said Knight. “One of the things that got identified was there needed to be another apron, another tax runway that runs parallel to that leased area.
“What the consultants for the master airport plan came up with was the need for this parallel taxi runway and off-ramp to it. That necessitated a revision to the building layout that was approved by this council.”
Knight said a building had to be shifted from what had been approved to allow the wingtips of the airplanes going past to clear the structure.
“They needed to setback their building further to what was approved and they were able to achieve that through the summer,” said Knight. “We got the amended layout to confirm that they provided sufficient clearance to allow the additional area for the runway.
“There is really no change to the design of the façade. There might be some minor roofing changes, but in essence, what you as the committee are looking for approving is the amendment to the layout.”
Knight said staff is seeking a recommendation from the committee to put the recommendation for council to allow the amendment to be considered.
Mayor Dave Formosa said he wanted the public and city council to know the airport development is a difficult process. He said the building had to go through the city approval processes, but the biggest struggles were with Transport Canada.
“They are very onerous,” said Formosa. “Every move has to be approved by Transport Canada and believe me, they are all over it. It has caused a lot of work and it is frustrating but the owner is up to it and he knows what he’s up against. Transport Canada has many rules and regulations and it’s not like building on an industrial lot.
“The owner of this project is a young man and he’s cutting his teeth on this project. He’s working very hard. Time is becoming of the essence for him. It’s getting to the point where he has to start building here pretty soon or he may lose his major tenant. I want people to realize that this is not just an ordinary project.”
Formosa said he was excited that the project is actually going to start happening.
“It looks like we have some potential real opportunities for great jobs to go with this aviation park,” said Formosa. “We have to keep the push on.”
The airport development permit amendment will go to city council on December 3.
