Despite continued concerns about the impacts of a commercial development so close to a residential neighbourhood, Courtenay council has given the Thrifty Foods development in Crown Isle the go-ahead.
Council voted Monday that a development permit be issued subject to a number of conditions related to noise attenuation, landscaping, signs, parking and irrigation.
The development permit allows construction of a 8,921-square-metre commercial shopping centre, anchored by Thrifty Foods' second Valley store, on about 4.97 hectares of undeveloped land at the southeast corner of the intersection of Ryan and Lerwick roads.
Phase 1 of the plan includes eight commercial buildings with a mix of grocery, retail, office, financial and restaurant uses.
This first phase is about 90,000 square feet, anchored by a 39,000-square-foot Thrifty Foods store. About 10,000 to 12,000 square feet will be used for office space, architect Barry Weih of Wensley Architecture told council.
The applicant has not indicated future plans for Phase 2 at this point.
Vehicle access will be from Ryan and Lerwick roads, and there are pedestrian accesses from Bristol Way and Royal Place.
Crown Isle residents have been vocal with their concerns about increasing traffic in the area, and many residents opposed a vehicular access from Bristol Way that was being proposed.
"Thrifty Foods determined that after listening to the community, because the Bristol Way access was not required, they would not include it at this time," said Weih. "We now have a pedestrian access to Bristol Way."
Thrifty Foods has worked with a sound engineer to come up with a series of sound attenuation fences. They will also plant trees in the 7.5-metre buffer between the development and the residences behind it. The existing privacy fences will remain.
The buildings will have a contemporary West Coast look and will feature large canopies of timbre with stone bases, explained Weih.
"They are leaning away from a real commercial look," he said. "I think we're taking some materials that will speak to the Crown Isle look."
Coun. Doug Hillian was concerned about building a commercial development so close to a residential neighbourhood, noting there have been many complaints about the noises from Costco affecting the people who live near the store.
"We have significant concerns with another large development near a residential area ... I have to express some concerns if we will experience that here," he said.
Hillian wondered if any thought was given to putting Thrifty Foods on the other side of the lot and farther from the residences.
Thrifty Foods and Wensley Architecture looked at every variation but settled on this location, and they have worked hard to lessen the impacts on the development's residential neighbours, Weih told council.
"At the end of the day, it became clear this food store was going to drive the whole development," he said. "It became important to Thrifty Foods that they be in a location they can draw people. Will there be impact on the neighbours? I'm sure there will be. Has ever step been taken to mitigate it? I think so."
Hillian also wondered if there had been talk of constructing a berm as a buffer between the development and the homes.
They did initially look at building a berm within the 7.5-metre buffer, but that idea was replaced by more extensive sound attenuation fences, as there wasn't enough room, and the key is to bring the sound attenuation fences as close to the sound source as possible, explained Weih.
"The optimum sound attenuation is to place a sound attenuation fence right at the edge of the bioswale," he said, noting it could be possible to do a little mound in that space as well.
This development is a lot different than Costco, noted Coun. Larry Jangula, pointing out that restocking a grocery store is a lot different than restocking the largest Costco on Vancouver Island.
"I think these people have gone above and beyond," he said.
Coun. Jon Ambler pointed out that one of the principles of the Regional Growth Strategy is to develop within the city, and he noted the benefits of being able to walk to the grocery store.
"If you want to have a store you can walk to, it has to be close to where you live," he said. "It's going to be loud. People are not entitled to silence."
This Thrifty Foods store is almost double the size of the downtown store 鈥� which will remain open 鈥� and it is expected to create 120 new jobs.
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