Infrastructure and safety concerns have city staff recommending against requested variances relating to the addition of portables at a Salmon Arm school.
On the July 7 agenda for the city's development and planning services committee meeting is a development variance permit application from Sicamous' TA Structures, on behalf of the Broadview Evangelical Free Church and the Shuswap Christian Education Society. The two are seeking to waive servicing upgrades along 30th Street NE and 2nd Avenue NE, triggered by a building permit application for two modular classrooms to be located on the King's Christian School property, just behind the north end of the existing building.
The servicing requirements involve frontage upgrades on 30th and 2nd. Those along 30th these include the addition of a fire hydrant, street light and installation of a multi-use path. On 2nd, servicing requirements include upgrading the water-main, the addition of a fire hydrant and street light installation.
In a written report, staff note the school is "located in an area identified for fire flow deficiency," requiring testing to assure servicing is "adequately sized to provide fire flows," and that the owner/developer "is required to complete any subsequent upgrades necessary to meet these standards and is responsible for all associated costs."
Staff also point out the school is located in a "prominent position" in the city's transportation network, and that 30th Avenue is identified as a bike route in the official community plan, and as a "Major Project" in the city's Active Transportation Plan.
The city's engineering department describes the existing sidewalk along 30th as "substandard" and of "deteriorated condition… evident in its age-related cracks, and it lacks essential features such as curbs and gutters, further emphasizing the need for upgrades to ensure safety and accessibility."
"Improving routes near school sites has been noted in community engagement activities and within the City’s plans, where these routes have been particularly prioritized in order to serve youth and support safe routes to schools," reads the report.
In a letter to the city, Twin Anchors Manufacturing (TA Structures) president Greg Kyllo points out the required frontage upgrades would add an estimated $1.1 million to the total project cost, nearly tripling the overall budget. He said this would be an "unreasonable financial burden to the school," and if the city insists on all the servicing requirements the project would be cancelled.
Staff recognizes the scope of the required improvements as being "large relative to the proposed project," but argues that completely offsetting the associated work/costs is problematic, "placing additional financial burden on the city for the improvements in the future and increased costs on future developers of adjacent properties."
Staff is asking council to deny what's been requested, but is amenable to the following: waiving the water-main upgrade along 2nd, and waiving the fire-flow requirement and the fire hydrant installation on 30th subject to confirmation fire protection standards are achieved by other means.