Victoria council has moved forward a proposal to turn two Fernwood sites into a 19-unit mixed-used project despite concerns about lack of parking and the size of the proposed building.
The rezoning application calls for the redevelopment of single-family homes at 1276-1278 Gladstone Ave. into 18 units of rental housing and a single commercial space suitable for a bakery, restaurant or neighbourhood pub on the ground floor, but no parking spaces.
All of council acknowledged that parking was an issue in the area — a point raised by area residents — but the majority ruled it did not warrant rejecting the application.
“This is badly needed housing in a fantastically dense little neighbourhood. If we’re going to have to be building mixed-use housing Fernwood on Gladstone is a perfect spot to be building that,” said Coun. Matt Dell. “It’s probably one of the most walkable areas in the entire city, which I think is going to lend itself to a lot of people not using cars.
The project, just west of the Belfry Theatre and Fernwood Square, would include long-term bicycle parking, $55,000 toward the purchase of a shared electric vehicle, $20,000 toward an electric vehicle charging station, Modo car share memberships and B.C. Transit passes for half the units for a three-year-term.
“I do recognize the parking aspect of it. If you want to find a place that you need to have parking, maybe you don’t go here,” Dell said. “We’re not going to force people that need parking into these units. People can choose where to live based on different aspects of that housing.”
Coun. Jeremy Caradonna said that car-free living is not for everyone. “But it is for many people,” he said, noting 25 per cent of Victoria households are already car-free, a number that city data suggests jumps to 40 per cent in the downtown. “What we’re trying to do here, and I think the proponent gets it, is set it up so that there is the possibility of living car-free or very car light in this city.
“This is a relatively easy one to support and I think that we need to get used to seeing a lot more buildings like this around the city.”
Coun. Dave Thompson said the project is supportable simply because of the housing it will provide.
“We are in a housing crisis, we’ve got young workers leaving town, which has a significant impact on businesses, especially downtown,” he said.
Thompson added there are seniors wanting to downsize and families looking to find a way out of one-bedroom suites but have limited choices.
“We just don’t have enough housing in the system, enough choice and affordability so I do like the mix of units in this building,” he said, noting 30 per cent of the units are three-bedroom suites.
Councillors Chris Coleman, Stephen Hammond and Marg Gardiner voted against the project moving forward.
Coleman said the parking issue is a big one and may be creating downstream problems when people move in and later find they need a vehicle as their circumstances change.
“There’s a spectrum of housing that we do need to support, but I am very concerned about the impact that we will create as it relates to our drive for no parking zones or no parking on applications,” he said.
Hammond added that the project is just too big for the site.
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