It took four debates, three public hearings, an appeal and a surprise declaration of conflict of interest, but it now appears an 18-unit rental apartment building is coming to Battle Street.
The building, proposed by D&T Developments for 801 and 807 Battle St., was back up for discussion at Kamloops city council on Tuesday, Dec. 16, where councillors agreed to allow a rezoning and move forward with a development permit for the project by a voting margin of 4-3.
A week earlier, councillors had voted the project down following a public hearing with a tie vote of 4-4.
However, Coun. Tina Lange told council questions had been raised about her ability to vote following the hearing, since she owns rental property within the 100-metre radius of the development and also lives in the area, though her own home is outside the notification zone for the project.
Lange said she had discussed the issue with staff and didn’t think she had a conflict of interest, which generally requires a financial or familial stake in the outcome of a vote.
But, after the hearing, the city got another legal opinion suggesting Lange could be seen to have a special interest in the development.
“My decision was not affected by the location of my personal residences or my rental property, but was based upon the community and overall neighbourhood,” Lange said, but she agreed she should have sat out the vote.
Coun. Ken Christian then asked council to take another vote on the Battle Street project.
Though he said he was still against rezoning the lots, due to concerns around the amount of on-site parking provided (18 spaces instead of the usual 24 required by city bylaws) and the number of variances required to fit the building to the space, Christian called the previous week’s vote “fatally flawed” due to Lange’s presence.
With Lange out of the room, the project passed with support from Mayor Peter Milobar and councillors Donovan Cavers, Pat Wallace and Marg Spina. As usual, Coun. Arjun Singh recused himself from the debate because he manages rental property.
Cavers said approving the project sends a message the city is serious about densifying its downtown core.
“I support the city growing up rather than out,” he said.
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