The final phase of the Garibaldi Springs multifamily development is moving forward, and Polygon is applying for two variances. The variance would allow taller buildings and shorter driveways than currently permitted. The District’s Advisory Design Panel is reviewing the application today.
The development permit application for the “Glenwild” project at 2100 Newport Ridge Drive includes requests to increase the maximum building height from 10.68 meters to 16.4 meters and reduce the minimum driveway length from six meters to just 0.7 meters. Polygon says the height variance is necessary to accommodate additional fill required to meet flood construction standards.
If approved, the third and final phase of the Garibaldi Springs development would see 34 buildings constructed, comprising 123 townhomes ranging from two to three stories. The 3.27-hectare site is one of three planned residential clusters within the former Garibaldi Springs Golf Course. The surrounding area will be given to the district as a park. The proposed townhouses include 87 three-bedroom units (135 to 155 square meters) and 36 four-bedroom units (196 to 203 square meters).
Each unit will have a private garage and additional visitor parking via dispersed surface stalls. A shared waste and recycling facility, outdoor amenities, and pedestrian pathways linking to the Coho Park and Garibaldi Springs trail networks are also included in the plan.
The buildings will feature fibre cement siding in a palette of light and medium greys, tan, wood tones, and muted green, designed to complement the local rainforest environment. District staff have expressed general support for the project and the Advisory Design Panel will review the variances at a meeting tonight.
Marc-André Gagnon says
After reviewing the plans for the Glenwild townhomes’ Development Permit, I was concerned about the design of the new connection to the Coho park trail network.
The level of the subdivision will be significantly higher than the existing natural grade. This led to the observation that the connection to Coho Park will require 2 flights of concrete stairs.
It would be very disappointing to connect this new subdivision to a trail network with a couple of staircases. Not only does it not respect universal accessibility standards, but it also limits people with disabilities, bikes or strollers from accessing the beautiful Coho P rk. The Trail Society and the Accessibility and Elders Society have done some nice work to make the Coho trail (the flat section) accessible to all. It would be sad to see that this is the only outcome possible for a new neighbourhood to be connected with an existing decades-old trail system. Amblepath, ValleyCliffe, Garibaldi Highlands and many other new neighbourhoods have accessible connections that allow a seamless transition from the trail to the street. Why wouldn’t this new neighbourhood respect those standards?
Many citizens used this trail every day before construction. The only thing missing was a bridge between the Coho trail and the “old golf.” A log bridge was created, and the path has been used since then. Where will the new connection lead to Coho trail? I was hoping that this new development would offer as a legacy a nice multi-use connection allowing bikes, strollers and wheelchairs to access the Garibaldi Springs network. I think it would be to the benefit of the community if this could be reviewed.