Neighbours concerned after Saanich approves first-ever townhouse development without parking
Neighbours concerned after Saanich approves first-ever townhouse development without parking
For the first time ever, the District of Saanich has approved construction of a multi-unit residential building that will not include parking spots.
Normally, a nine-unit townhouse project would require 23 parking stalls in Saanich. Once the new complex is built on the corner of Richmond Road and Allenby Street, however, there will be none.
"It really is a location where people could quite easily get around without a car," said Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock on Tuesday.
The building will be close to transit stops and Hillside mall. Saanich council unanimously approved the project with the capital region's housing supply crisis in mind, says Murdock.
"If we’re not requiring space on that site to store a car, it means we can create an additional home," he said.
'DOESN'T SOUND VERY REALISTIC'
The Camosun Community Association has its concerns, however.
"So much density," said Jamie Dopp, a Camosun Community Association executive member.
The district says the complex will cater to those choosing to live a car-free lifestyle. There will be storage for 18 bicycles, one car-share parking spot with an electric charging station, and all residents will receive a Modo car-share membership.
"From our point of view, that doesn’t sound very realistic," said Dopp.
Dopp also lives next door to the approved project site. His concern is that the quiet street he lives on will become a parking lot.
The house that currently sits at the corner of Richmond Road and Allenby Street in Saanich where the nine-unit townhouse complex will be built is shown. (CTV News)
Julian West, principal and owner of Urban Thrive Developments, says 80 people are already on a waitlist to get one of the nine townhouse units.
He says the next step will now be about getting people who already live a car-free lifestyle into those townhomes.
"We approached this from a couple of levels and the first piece is that matching process," said West.
"The final piece of the puzzle for us is we’re actually going to have a contract with our buyers," he added.
The contract stipulates that residents can't park on the street.
Dopp says he's concerned about what will happen when the original owners eventually sell their homes at some point in the future.
"And then what happens if the composition of residents in the building changes?" said Dopp.
He adds that the 'no parking' stipulation will rely on the honour system.
"He’s [West] admitted that it’s not enforceable, so it’s kind of like, moral pressure, I guess, is the hope," said Dopp.
The permitting and construction process is expected to take up to a year and a half to complete.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Residents digging through a collapsed building in a northwest Syrian town discovered a crying infant whose mother appears to have given birth to her while buried underneath the rubble from this week's devastating earthquake, relatives and a doctor said Tuesday.
The British Columbia government has introduced legislation to make Sept. 30 a paid statutory holiday marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
Three men who disappeared after planning to rap at a Detroit party were killed by multiple gunshots, police said Tuesday, five days after their bodies were found in a vacant, rat-infested building.
Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands announced Tuesday that they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 100 refurbished Leopard 1 battle tanks, a pledge that comes as Kyiv anticipates a new Russian offensive around the anniversary of its invasion.
Zoom is cutting about 1,300 jobs, or approximately 15% of its workforce. CEO Eric Yuan said in a blog post Tuesday that the company ramped up staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses became increasingly reliant on its service as people worked from home. Yuan said Zoom grew three times in size within 24 months to manage demand.
A passenger plane packed with donations and emergency supplies is set to travel from Vancouver, B.C., to Istanbul on Tuesday, as the death toll from Monday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkiye and Syria surpasses 6,200.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars, a CTV News Toronto investigation has found.
Nearly five years after Matthew Staikos was gunned down in Toronto, the family of the tech CEO has renewed a $250,000 reward in the unsolved murder case.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
The Tsuut'ina Police Service, which serves a community west of Calgary, is expected to share more details about the case against former Dances With Wolves actor Nathan Chasing Horse, CTV News has learned.
The Laurier Macdonald High School in Montreal's Saint-Leonard borough was placed into lockdown Tuesday afternoon due to a threat, but Montreal police say they believe it appears to be unfounded.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
A former medical student who claims he fatally shot a fellow student in self-defence during a drug deal in Halifax denied Tuesday he planned to kill the man and steal the marijuana he was carrying.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
A Winnipeg family is in mourning after two relatives were killed by an earthquake that caused destruction across southeast Turkiye and neighbouring Syria.
Region of Waterloo staff are hoping to double the number of automated speed enforcement sites in the region to 32 this year, but councillors want to see even more cameras added at a faster pace.
A forensic pathologist offered her expert opinion on how Catlin Goodwill’s three-month-old son died suddenly in October 2017, during testimony on the second day of trial.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, chased students around and tried to whip them with his belt and once choked another teacher 'until she couldn't breathe,' according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.
The house that currently sits at the corner of Richmond Road and Allenby Street in Saanich where the nine-unit townhouse complex will be built is shown. (CTV News)
