By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: April. 13, 2012
Considering rare and extenuating circumstances, the council has decided to waive the advisory design panel requirements for the Garden Centre located on 1861 Mamquam Road.
The decision was made at a regular council meeting held on April.3, 2012.
The design panel, an independent body of local architects, gives impartial advice on any project that affects the community’s physical environment.
An ADP meeting for the project located at 1861 Mamquam Road was called for March 15 this year, but didn’t proceed because a quorum could not be achieved.
No professional architect member of the Architectural Institute of BC was available to sit on the panel.
The planning staff called for a meeting again, but one AIBC member was out of the country, while another was working with the proposal itself.
“It’s an exceptional request to waive ADP requirements,” said Sabina Foofat, the district planner.
Foofat said this has happened only once before, during the building of a senior retirement home on Third Ave last year.
Staff absolutely support the ADP function and the merit that ADP review brings to each project, she added.
“We value the free advice and extra eyes looking at the project,” she noted.
In this instance, however, a collection of circumstances have made holding an ADP meeting extremely difficult, and staff do not support delaying the project at 1861 Mamquam Road indefinitely.
