Costco has cleared the first hurdle in its controversial effort to relocate within 琉璃神社.
City council gave first reading to rezoning and Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment applications for the contentious move at its Monday, Nov. 23 meeting. The applications will now move to what is anticipated to be a busy public hearing next month.
The new proposed location in a six-hectare property at the corner of Leckie, Baron and Springfield roads is a short 770 metres away from the big box store鈥檚 current location along Highways 97 and 33 but will allow for a larger building, with more parking and a gas bar.
Despite the short move, city planning manager Ryan Smith said the application was complex to process in terms of traffic impact.
鈥淭his area, being the hourglass through the middle of our city, is a busy area,鈥� he said. 鈥淚ntersections in this area are nearing or at capacity in a number of cases without Costco.鈥�
Bringing Costco in, Smith said, adds a number of trips through that corridor. Because of that, Costco has agreed to pay around $2.5 million for several road improvements in the area. However, Smith noted, Costco 鈥渃an鈥檛 fund every single improvement in the area鈥� and some will fall to other developments and the city.
Smith said the development would not compromise city objectives in the mid-town urban centre. Giving a peek as to what the soon-to-release 2040 OCP will look like, Smith said the city anticipates further densification of the mid-town area, with a goal of 1,100 new units in the area and potentially upwards of 2,000.
鈥淚n terms of our urban centre hierarchy, mid-town probably the furthest behind in terms of becoming a true urban centre,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 another reason we considered this site.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 a major compromise 鈥� There are a number of other opportunities to achieve the density that we鈥檇 anticipated in the area over the life of the OCP.鈥�
Smith also noted that if in the future, Costco vacates the site, it would be easy to redevelop for more high-density housing.
Regardless of the assurances from council of Costco-funded road improvements, councillors still mirrored community concerns regarding traffic. Councillors Loyal Wooldridge and Charlie Hodge hesitated in giving their support to the first reading but wanted the matter to move to a public hearing so the community would be able to give its input.
The public hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8. To allow for proper social distancing for the high number of people expected to show up, the city said it is hoping to allow up to 50 people to view the deliberation from the 琉璃神社 Community Theatre across the street, entering council chambers when it鈥檚 their time to speak.
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