Next week’s city council meeting will be a busy one with five major rezoning applications on the agenda.
Kelowna City Council will be asked to give initial consideration to rezoning applications for projects proposed for Bernard Avenue, Martin Avenue and Gordon Drive, Mills Road in Rutland, Glenmore Drive and Cara Glen Court.
All but one of those applications is looking to rezone the property to allow for an apartment building.
If each of these projects moves ahead and is eventually approved at the development permit stage, that could mean over 300 news units are brought online in Kelowna.
Of those 307 potential residential units, 219 are proposed to be rentals.
Novation Architecture is looking to rezone this property, which is currently home to a 12-unit independent retirement building operated by the Abbeyfield Society, from the RU4b - Duplex Housing with Boarding to MF3r - Apartment Housing (Rental Only) zone.
“The Society has indicated that they will be ceasing operations citing challenges with the Residential Tenancy Act, operation costs, and an aging board,” says a staff report.
According to an application submitted in December 2023, the plan is to build a 51-unit apartment building. The six-storey building would have two levels of parking with one below grade. There would be 61 parking spaces with 10 long-term spaces for bikes and 46 short-term bike spots.
Staff are recommending support because the proposal aligns with future land use designation under the Official Community Plan (OCP) and it is located on a transit supportive corridor.
Lime Architecture submitted a rezoning application for this property in January and intends to rezone the property from the RU4 – Duplex Housing zone to the MF3 – Apartment Housing zone to facilitate a six-storey building.
There would be 33 units made up of a mix of one and two bedroom apartments. Plans indicate there would be 39 vehicle parking spaces, 48 long-term bicycle spots and six short-term bike spots.
Staff recommend support because the proposal is consistent with OCP future land designation and the property is near transit and several parks and commercial amenities.
In February, Gravity Architecture submitted design plans on behalf of Patrick Kerr Holdings for eight three-storey buildings that are proposed for 63-165, 175 and 205 Mills Road.
That would require the three properties on Mills Road to be rezone from RU1 - Large Lot Housing to MF2 - Townhouse zone. The developer is proposing 55 units which would have their own garages, which are a mix of side-by-side or tandem spaces.
Staff recommend support because “the proposed zone is consistent with the Future Land Use Designation of C-NHD – Core Area Neighbourhood which supports ground-oriented multi-unit housing.”
The City of Kelowna submitted its own rezoning application for these three properties in March with the goal of facilitating “future higher density development.”
The goal is to rezone the properties from the RU1 - Large Lot Residential zone to the MF3R - Apartment Housing Rental Only zone. There could be up to 56 units including a mix of one, two and three bedrooms. Fifty-three parking stalls would be provided along with 49 bicycle parking spaces.
Staff recommend support because the proposal aligns with OCP policies that support apartment housing up to 6 storeys in height where properties directly abut Transit Supportive Corridors.
BlueGreen Architecture is eyeing 1402 Cara Glen Ct. for their project, which boasts 112 rental units in two four-storey apartment buildings.
According to an application submitted in November 2023, the developer wants to rezone the property from the MF2 – Townhouse Housing to the MF3r – Apartment Housing (rental only) zone.
There would be 73 one-bedroom apartments and 39 two bedroom units. Normally, the city would require 158 parking stalls for a building of this size, however, after considering a bike sharing incentive, car share program and a rental housing incentive from the city that drops down to a proposed 138 stalls.
The developer would be providing 160 bicycle parking stalls, 10 more than required.
Staff recommend support because the “proposed Rental Only subzone aligns with OCP Policy encouraging diverse housing tenures within the Core Area.”
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
