The Kanata School rezoning process continued to be a topic of hot conversation for city council when, after outlining to developer and land purchaser Bryton Group that rezoning the property from Public Facilities Zone (P1) to Multiple Family Residential Zone (RM3) would be unacceptable due to the high rate of density that RM3 brings to the area, city planner Zeno Krekic brought council two possible directions the rezoning could take; one as a mixture of RM1/RM2 (Single and Two Family Residential Zones) on one portion of the proposed residential development and RM1 (Multifamily Residential) on the other, and a second possible avenue of a Bryton Group-directed mixture of RM3 and RM1 densities, which was amended from strictly RM3 in the original proposal.
The Bryton Group also agreed to build a through-road through the new potential subdivision that will provide entrances and exits to the area as it expands with residential development, again a modified aspect of the proposal, which only had a private road through the area. The new public road will allow access and connectivity to the area and is proposed to be built to the furthest southwest point of the property.
Councillors had differing opinions on the exact density of the area, but agreed that a ‘tot lot’ or a park would be needed in the area, something the Bryton Group is open to constructing.
“This is something we’re trying to be smart about to ensure that the community interests are met ... The good news is we fixed the road problem and I’m happy that the developer has moved in that direction. It takes some time, we needed to figure what those two options were. I’m hoping by the next meeting we can figure out one,” said Mayor Lee Brain.
Prince Rupert School District 52 secretary treasurer Cam McIntyre was pleased to see some sort of progress on the rezoning, as once the rezoning is passed, the Kanata property comes off the district’s books and the sale is concluded.
“Council had to pass a motion, effectively, to take it back onto the table and that’s in fact what they have now done ... They will bring it back and now debate it again at their next meeting, so that was the hoped-for outcome from our perspective,” he said.