The Hamilton Hill development was back before Council on Tues. June 8 as an Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendment was presented and debated.
The development, which will be known as Palomino Pointe Estates is located at 2320 Hamilton Hill Rd. and would become part of the Gateway 286 project.
Palomino Pointe Estates would include up to 450 residential units in a mixture of single-family, duplex, townhomes and potentially apartments as well as a 100-room hotel. The complete build out of the project would be approximately 20 years, with 50% of the housing completed in the first ten years and the hotel and the remainder of the housing being constructed through years eleven to 20. The former visitor centre site is slated for commercial development, which would be presented to council at a later date.
The meeting began with a Public Hearing regarding the proposed changes to the OCP and Zoning Bylaw, in which responses were evenly split between support for and opposition to the project.
Issues such as water supply, sewer treatment and snow removal were brought up, as well as the impact a development outside of Merritt’s existing commercial areas would have.
“…let our existing downtown serve as the source of commerce for the residents,” read one letter, which suggested using the property for exclusively residential development.
“I do not support the re-zoning.”
Susan Roline, Chair of Spayum Holdings LLP, a joint venture between the five First Nations bands of the Nicola Valley, submitted a letter in support of the project.
“Approval of the OCP and Zoning amendments for Palomino Pointe Estates will be yet another step toward developing the Gateway 286 sector as envisioned by the Official Community Plan,” reads a statement from Spayum Holdings LLP.
Following the Public Hearing, Council debated the information presented by both staff and Merrittonians.
“It’s not another city, it’s another neighbourhood,” said Mayor Brown, in response to comments by the public.
“The developer is very cognizant of the fact that they don’t want to detract from the downtown area. And knowing that the developer is willing to be looking at what happens in our downtown area, I think it’s a good thing.”
Councillor Kurt Christopherson said he didn’t believe that the development would have a negative impact on existing Merritt businesses.
“The North End development hasn’t sucked the life out of the downtown core,” said Christopherson.
“Some of the big box stores and the grocery store and other stores up there, they’ve kept residents here in Merritt instead of traveling out of the city to larger centres, so they do have their place. And it’s also created a neighbourhood that’s a viable walkable community, so I think other development in the city and surrounding areas adds to the business climate here, it doesn’t detract from it.”
Councillor Travis Fehr, owner of Breathe Bikes, was in agreement.
“As a business owner downtown, I’m excited about this development I look forward to the new opportunities it will bring,” said Fehr.
“And I think as far as the concept of it detracting from downtown, I think really what it does is create opportunities to try and meet the demands of a new segment.”
Councillor Melvina White did raise the subject of sewer effluent treatment, and the corresponding infrastructure.
WSP, the consultants contracted by the City of Merritt, did not indicate that the sewer treatment plant would need upgrades as a direct result of the Gateway 286 development, although the City is currently working on a Wastewater Treatment Masterplan that will identify any future requirements.
“From our modelling that’s not something that is anticipated at this time,” said Planning and Development Services Manager, Don McArthur.
City CAO Sean Smith noted the sewage treatment plant is currently running at about 60% capacity.
“The short of it is… if the City of Merritt were to grow the projected growth rates without Exit 286 there would still be significant infrastructure upgrades that are required,” said Smith.
Several systems of pipes will need to be replaced or upgraded to a larger diameter, but this is not a new issue and something the City has been looking at for the past several years.
Upgrades along the line have been estimated to be around the $13-million mark, with roughly $8-million of those upgrades required regardless of the Gateway 286 development.
Any upgrades needed specifically for the development will be the responsibility of the developer through cost sharing and Development Cost Charges (DCC). The City was given statutory approval on May 25 by the Inspector of Municipalities to borrow $7.554-million for infrastructure costs, which would then be repaid by way of Local Area Service fees on Gateway 286 property taxes.
Councillor Tony Luck also touched on the misconceptions and frustrations Merrittonians had brought to City Hall regarding Gateway 286 and other proposed developments.
“I have full confidence in our staff and our engineers and even our consultants that bring this information, that’s what they do,” said Luck.
“And so, I’m going to put a challenge out right now to anybody in this community that if they’re upset with our numbers and our work, I’m more than happy to see them hire an engineer and come up with their own numbers, because quite frankly, we’ve got to put our confidence in something in this community and right now I’m putting it in our staff and in our engineers and developers, this is what they do… If you feel the numbers are wrong, please come and challenge us, but bring us the facts. No more innuendo, no more guessing.”
The OCP Amendment, which would change the parcel from “Future Development” to “Comprehensive Residential Commercial” and remove the three-storey reference, would allow for the construction of the hotel, and the Zoning Bylaw Amendment, which changed the zoning from “Large Parcel Residential (R1A)” and “Agricultural (AR1)” to “Comprehensive Development (CD2)”, were passed with only Councillor White in opposition.
