City council to consider plans for 2 more buildings in university area

Five buildings with almost 600 suites have been built or approved in recent years

Two more residential buildings in the fastdeveloping University Village area would have 81 fewer parking stalls than city regulations normally require.

The variance is acceptable, city staff say, since most of the expected residents would be university students walking to the nearby UBCO campus.

Plans to be considered by Kelowna city council on Tuesday night show a four-storey building with 108 units, and a three-storey complex with 72 suites.

Both would be constructed along Academy Way, where five buildings with almost 600 suites have been built or approved in recent years. Four of those projects also received parking variances.

Current parking requirements would require 275 stalls for the two new buildings. However, the developer is proposing to build only 194 underground parking spaces.

When parking requirements are waived for projects in other areas of the Kelowna, the city can collect a cash-inlieu fee intended to help pay for the construction of parkades. But that program doesn’t apply in the University Village area.

“While the parking variance represents a significant reduction from the zoning bylaw, staff have been supportive of the scale of the variance largely due to the unique character of the University Village neighbourhood and the project’s intended niche demographic,” reads part of a report to council by city planner Adam Cseke.

Contributed Almost 600 suites have been approved in recent years in several new privately owned residential buildings on Academy Way south of UBC Okanagan. Two additional projects, with another 180 suites, are up for council approval on Tuesday.