A group of Brackendale residents are inviting people to sign a petition asking the district to refuse variances for a proposed rental apartment building in Brackendale.
The Brackendale Hub project is proposed on 41665-41707 Government Road, with one building located right next to the historic Canada Post office and the general store, and the other located behind it.
The developer is seeking two variances: Increasing the maximum height from 12.18 to 14.5 m, and reducing the required parking spaces from 53 to 48.
The group wants district to reject the variances, and pause the development until meaningful public input is provided by citizens.
They also want the district to create a neighbourhood plan for Brackendale before any new projects are allowed to move forward.
Ginger Blum and Matt Harris, Kelly and Stephen Fryer, Kathy Kennedy and Clint Gilbank, Della and Keith Halvorson, and Amanda Bagliore are the Brackendale residents who have launched the petition.
These residents want the district to reject both variances, and enable better public engagement that would involve all citizens, including seniors.
“We feel that the character of our neighbourhood has not been adequately considered and urge that the variance to height be denied, bringing the project back into an appropriate scale,” they say.
The locals are also worried about parking in the area. They emphasise the fact that the project is in Brackendale, which can’t be considered just an extension of Squamish, they say.
“We worry that fact has been lost in an effort to force density and does not celebrate that Brackendale has a semi-rural character and we have our own rich history. In addition, the project in its current scale, in fact, raises safety concerns of residents, and reduces the functionality of our neighbourhood,” they say.
They are calling upon the district to create a neighbourhood plan for Brackendale that would help planning staff and developers better understand the unique features of Brackendale.
“This crucial step should be performed prior to any project of this scale being presented to council,” they say.
The petition is available here.
