A contentious proposal for an 800-unit development bordering the Englishman River outside Parksville’s core has been delayed until after the Oct. 15 municipal election at the request of the developer.
District Developments Corp. of Vancouver wrote a letter to the municipality this month asking for the Sept. 19 hearing to be postponed, Parksville said in a statement.
Council agreed to postpone the hearing for 1465 Greig Rd. until further notice.
Staff were asked to send information about the proposal for the 140-acre site to the newly elected council for its Nov. 21 meeting to discuss a new hearing date. Municipal elections are set for Oct. 15 throughout the province.
Briana Mussatto, development manager for District Developments, proposed in the Sept. 6 letter that the hearing be held in December.
The company’s consultants are in high demand and scheduling has been an issue, she said.
The company is also spending time on matters such as a recent floodplain analysis and development of a trail network and how it would be phased, aiming to ensure it can fully address questions at the public hearing, the letter said.
District Developments is looking at developing multi-family housing on the site, which is in the south part of the city.
Opponents argue the project is unsuitable for the largely undeveloped site next to the river. They worry about tree loss, the impact on wildlife and additional traffic if the development is approved, as well as the site’s distance from shops and services in Parksville.
