A vacant property on Kerr Street could eventually become home to up to 76 townhouse units under a proposed zoning change in Terrace.
The proposal applies to 2611 Kerr Street, near Oakland Avenue. The roughly 1.6 to 1.7-hectare property is currently zoned as Townhouse Multi-Family Residential.
Under the existing zoning, the property could accommodate a maximum of 33 townhouse units per hectare, or roughly 55 units in total.
A proposed site-specific zoning amendment would increase the maximum density to 45 units per hectare, allowing for up to 76 townhouse units.
The proposed bylaw would amend the R3 zone to permit the higher density specifically on 2611 Kerr Street.
Planning Manager, Ken Newman said the property is one of the larger parcels on the south side of Terrace and has been designated for multifamily development since the 1970s.
“The R-3 zone is a medium density multifamily residential zone that allows only townhouses,”said Newman.
The potential development would also require improvements to Kerr Street, which is currently a gravel, undeveloped road along the east side of the property.
Questions have been raised about whether the higher density could be accommodated on the site, including potential impacts on parking, water and sanitary infrastructure.
Newman said the additional density could fit depending on the eventual design.
“I would assume that, yes, that provided good design,” staff said. “And depending on the design of the units, you know, there could be two-story, and there’s a number of ways that could fit that.”
The property’s location within the floodplain is another consideration for any future development.
When asked about how the city would manage the risk for future homeowners, noting that the property could be inundated during a 200-year flood.
Newman said any future construction would have to comply with the city’s flood regulations.
“Whatever construction would occur, there would have to be built according to those regulations,” Newman said. “So, the properties either raised up sufficiently, or the buildings or have the underside of the floorboards above the minimum elevation according to the 200-year flood regulations.”
The zoning amendment has received first and second readings from Terrace Council and will now continue through the city’s approval process.
That process could include a public hearing and referral to the Ministry of Transportation because the property is within 800 metres of a controlled-access highway.
