City City approves infill townhouses in Glenbrooke North

TheresaMcManus tmcmanus@newwestrecord ca

A neighbourhood that rallied against infill housing while the city was updating the official community plan had little to say about a proposed infill townhouse development in Glenbrooke North

On Monday, council held a public hearing regarding 10 side-by-side infill townhouse units in two buildings at 102 and 104 Eighth Ave and 728 First St

Wendee Lang, a development planner, said the city considered the infill townhouse land-use designation for the site when updating the official community plan (OCP) After receiving petitions about plans being proposed for the neighbourhood, she said the city decided the area would remain designated for detached and semi-detached homes in the OCP.

The city’s land use and planning committee received a preliminary application for an infill townhouse project on the site in 2021, and the applicant submitted the current formal application to the city in June 2022.

According to Lang, community feedback to the project has been “largely positive” but the developer did make a few minor changes to the plan in response to public input.

Tara Gronlund, a long-

4 4 31 31 time NewWest resident and the project’s architect, said Glenbrooke Row is a “thoughtfully designed development” that will help transform the sites from the older, lower-density housing to something that provides more housing options for the neighbourhood

“The site is located within a short walk of all levels of schools,Terry Hughes and Queen’s parks, shops and services, and the upcoming təməsewtxʷ Aquatic Centre.The project is located along transit routes and is close to the Rotary Crosstown Greenway,” she said.

“Careful consideration has been given to minimizing the impact of the develop- ment on the neighbours ”

NewWest resident Larry Church expressed concern that the proposal is contrary to the wishes expressed by many residents during the OCP process, when they urged the city to remove the proposed townhouse designation (Council approved the OCP in 2017 )

“It’s this process that I’m really concerned about,” he said. “What’s the point of going through an OCP renewal?”

In response to residents’ concerns, in the spring of 2017, council approved a

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