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◆ NEWS Woman, son found dead, P. 2 ◆ NEWS Dogs helping to heal veterans, P. 9
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TYEE BUILDING SUPPLIES LP. 405 - 3rd Avenue East, Prince Rupert Tel. 250-627-7011 Toll Free 1-800-668-0606 www.rona.ca
TERRACE - Ecole Mountainview students react to the sight of teacher Eric Gearey having his head shaved at a school assembly April 4. The teacher volunteered to be sheared in return for students raising money in support of Thornhill Primary student Hailey Pettit’s battle against leukemia. In the end, students raised $6,626.52 and off came Mr. Gearey’s locks.
Kitimat camp, hotel project hits hurdles By Cameron Orr
THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
KITIMAT - The Crossroads, a proposed hotel and camp development project, hasn’t progressed as quickly as the proponents may have had hoped, due to a number of logistical hurdles. They’re making head roads, but at the same time are looking for a softer approach from Kitimat Council as far as certain fees and obligations go. Namely, the company behind the proposal, Bryton Group, want a reduced density bonus which currently has them paying $500 per bed to an affordable housing fund, similar to what is in place for PTI Group, for each bed in their camp.
Secondly, they feel they should be exempt from the Pollution Control Centre charge of $300 per bed. “One of the primary issues with the density bonuses and the sewer charges is the impact of cost on development, and in part the current lack of clarity over the density bonuses...it’s a very unclear process,” said Scott Bilbrough from Opus DaytonKnight Consultants, who was with Bryton Group Principal Stuart Ramsey at the March 31 council meeting. He sees the density bonuses as an offset for building in high density zones, however the Crossroads would not be building in a high density area, and as well they would be building a very long connection to the
sewer system and bringing infrastructure to the site. He called it an “apples to oranges” comparison for other developments. Staffers say the density bonuses are consistent with policy. “Administration suggests a level playing field is fair to all businesses operating accommodation facilities,” they wrote to council in their report. As for the pollution control staff also didn’t see eye to eye with the developer, saying the company has characterized the pollution control centre charge as a “connection fee” but they explain that it’s actually towards the cost of processing sewage, not connecting the infrastructure. Therefore just because they’re building a long extension
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to the sewer system shouldn’t exempt them from paying the fees. These issues were brought up during the public hearing portion of the zoning bylaw being proposed for the development. The only other matter left to consider is traffic, and the District of Kitimat only recently received a traffic impact assessment. Staff were going to take the report to the Traffic Committee for comment, and the public hearing for the Crossroads was expected to be continued at a later time once the new information was available. Staff note that support for the hotel portion of the development seems high, while support for the proposed 1,000 bed camp does not see as much support.