A proposal to include property into the Ganges Sewer District has given the public its first glimpse of plans for as many as 180 new units of housing, intended to be built in the most densely populated — and arguably well-serviced — part of Salt Spring Island.
The new development would span three parcels on Ganges Hill — totalling more than three acres — at and adjacent to 231 Fulford-Ganges Road, across from Drake Road at the southern entrance to the village.
According to a letter to the sewer district from the Ganges Hill Development Company’s planning consultant, the first of two 90-unit phases would be comprised of “multiple structures varying in height,” with an estimated total floor space of more than 100,000 square feet — and, most relevant to the sewer district, a population estimate for that first phase of about 243 people potentially utilizing the waste system.
For almost two years, the property had been home to vehicle and material staging during the lengthy Ganges Hill road improvement project.
Since May 16, Salt Spring’s Ganges Village Marketplace (GVM) has offered paid Saturday off-site parking for its stores and the Saturday Market at the site, splitting the $10 per car fee with a rotating list of island nonprofits and charities who in exchange have volunteered to help run the lot.
Engineering estimates brought before the Ganges Sewer Local Service Commission’s annual general meeting Thursday, June 4 envisioned several three-storey structures, noting repeatedly the project was still in its early planning stages.
Attending to represent Ganges Hill Development Company, Highbury Asset Management’s Mark Grey-Dreaper told commissioners their preliminary drawings had suggested four buildings with 10,000 square foot footprints were most suitable along the back of the property for the first phase, with parking available on the Fulford-Ganges Road side to best preserve drivers’ sightlines.
Pressed for details by curious commissioners, Grey-Dreaper said the company prized the location’s proximity to the village core, its likely straightforward downhill integration into the existing sewer system and the property’s walkability for potential future residents.
“Collectively, I mean we’ve got 250 employees on the island,” said Grey-Dreaper, referring to Salt Spring’s Country Grocer and other endeavours at GVM.
“We’ve found ways to house about 50 of them in various forms of houses and trailers and things like that,” he added.
“So certainly affordable housing is close to our hearts, in terms of desires of what we would like to be able to see developed on the island.”
In response to further questions from commissioners, Grey-Dreaper said the project had not yet applied for water service from the North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD), nor had it begun a rezoning process with the Islands Trust; Salt Spring’s Capital Regional District director Gary Holman, who sits on the commission, noted there may be requirements about unit affordability in whatever housing agreements the developer comes to with local government.
“Our urgency is to be able to provide housing that is needed in the community,” said Grey-Dreaper.
“And affordable housing is a component to that, for sure.”
As the project progresses, according to a staff report, there may be financial implications for the sewer district; in addition to the $2,100 application fee already received, according to a staff report, if the development proceeds it will be obligated to pay nearly $2,500 to the commission for each multi-family residential unit connected.
Relatedly, should the development proceed with seeking water connections through NSSWD, it would face a one-time levy in the form of a Capital Expenditure Charge, according to district bylaws, which would cost between roughly $10,000 and $13,000 per unit — depending on each unit’s size. Last March, the NSSWD board partially lifted what had been a decade-long moratorium on new water connections, making available the demand equivalent of 300 multi-unit dwellings for properties seeking water on the Maxwell Lake side of the district’s system.
The Driftwood confirmed the water district had not recently received any large requests for connections, and that the Ganges Hill parcels do indeed lie within the area permitted for new taps.
Commissioners Thursday voted to grant permission for the proponents to proceed with their application to be included in the Ganges Sewer Local Service Area; that advances the process but doesn’t guarantee a connection, according to staff, who said they would complete a capacity analysis and bring a draft bylaw back to commissioners for their approval. The sewer commission meets twice each year.