Delta council on Monday (June 19) gave preliminary approval for an application to build a 3.5-storey office building in Tsawwassen.
Requiring an Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment and involving two properties, the proposal at the corner of 12th Avenue and 53A Street will go to a public hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
The 49,977-square-foot site currently contains a two-storey commercial building on the property at 5360 12 Ave. that would be demolished, while the property at 1170 53A St. is vacant. There is also a BC Hydro statutory right-of-way along the rear portion of the site.
For the 12th Avenue property, the development proposal is consistent with the commercial land use designation and the property is included in the Tsawwassen Town Centre Development Permit Area. However, for the 53A Street property, the development proposal is inconsistent with the single-family residential land use designation.
The developable portion of the site would front 53A Street, while the rear portion of the site is encumbered by the right-of-way.
The owners have requested the amendments to allow commercial development on a larger site to create a viable development project that would otherwise not be possible on the individual lots, which are both encumbered by the right-of-way, a staff report notes.
The report also notes that while the commercial building would be different in character than the lower density houses in the area, the scale, size and height would be comparable to other three and four-storey buildings in and near the town centre along 54A and 55 streets.
Vehicle access to the underground parking area would be from 53A Street and the at-grade parking would be from 12th Avenue.