A lack of parking, traffic congestion and concerns over green space dominated the discussions during a nearly two-hour public hearing in Mission on Monday night.
Residents came to city hall to express their concerns to council regarding a new construction project in the area of Cedar Street, Machell Street and Egglestone Avenue.
Greg Skrzyniarz and Omega Engineering applied for a zoning amendment for the properties located at 32661 Egglestone Ave. as well as 8653, 8677, and 8689 Cedar St. The change would allow for the development of up to 79 units consisting of 51 compact lots and 28 row houses.
Residents in the area fear the new development would make an already difficult parking situation worse.
“Parking has been an absolute nightmare,” said one Machell Street resident.
“If this developments adds to our problem, I don’t know what we are going to do.”
Many other residents expressed the same concern, fearing once the development is constructed they will be “battling to park” on their own street, especially when you consider the possibility of secondary suites.
Mayor Randy Hawes suggested that staff and council could consider creating a resident-parking-only area to alleviate concerns.
Another issue was safety as residents say vehicles often travel too fast in the area with “no regard for the safety of children.”
Speakers told council the proposed development had little greenspace for children to play and, with few or no yards, younger children might “shoot out into traffic.”
Concerns were also raised regarding the environmentally sensitive area of land adjacent to the project being “drastically reduced” and how it will impact local wildlife. People also said the area had become a dumping ground and needed to be cleaned up.
After listening to the concerns, council voted to give third reading to the zoning request. However, final approval will not be granted until staff investigate some of the issues.
Coun. Pam Alexis said she wants some assurances that kids have a space that is “adequate for play” to give children some quality of life.
Coun. Danny Plecas said he wanted to get some assurance for the neighbouring property owners that parking will improve.
Staff have also been directed to investigate the dumping concerns on the green space.
The zoning request will come before council again some time in the near future.