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Bosa towers to proceed

White Rock council waives public hearing on second phase of Miramar Village, approves zoning amendment
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A bylaw amendment to enable Bosa's Miramar Village second phase

The second phase of Bosa Properties’ Miramar Village has received the go-ahead from White Rock council.

Monday, council unanimously gave first and second readings to the necessary bylaw amendment for the once-contentious project, which will build 17-storey and 14-storey towers on the current site of the Hillcrest Mall, south of Miramar’s two existing towers.

Plans include a grocery store and ground-floor commercial units, as well as a main public plaza area.

While there was an option to hold a further public hearing on the zoning bylaw, council voted to waive it on the basis that “plans are consistent with the official community plan” and that “no significant objections or issues were received” at the Jan. 18 public-information meeting.

The bylaw amendment was necessitated by an error made in 2013, when the development application was updated, in which a 2006 plan for the second phase was attached instead of a revised plan from 2011.

The council decision followed the recommendations of a staff report on the zoning amendment to the land use and planning committee earlier that evening.

“I see this as a housekeeping issue,” Coun. Bill Lawrence said. “I don’t see any problem with it.”

The report, from the city’s acting director of planning Greg St. Louis, acknowledged residents had expressed concerns over the height of the buildings, any additional highrises, traffic and view impacts and the capacity of existing infrastructure to handle new development.

In a later discussion approving the continuation of the White Rock Farmers Market at Miramar Plaza through this year and the Christmas on the Peninsula event slated for Nov. 25, Coun. Megan Knight wondered whether construction would affect either event.

St. Louis told council he doesn’t “anticipate construction work to be scheduled for a year at least.”

Asked about that timeline after the meeting, St. Louis suggested checking the Bosa website for updates. It currently lists the second phase only as “coming in spring 2017,” with completion by “winter 2020.”