Campbell River could be growing taller.
This, after council members approved a height variance to allow a 33.9-metre tall, 80-rental unit building at 505 Dogwood St. South.
Any building higher than 26 metres at this location requires a height variance.
The 10-storey building includes two levels of parking at its base.
Council also directed that the city develop amendments for development permit guidelines, so that neighbourhood and community impacts of large-scale, multi-phased multiple-family developments can be considered before construction of the first building begins.
The city says zoning on this 3.18-hectare property encourages multi-family construction due to access to transit and amenities.
Phase one constructed a 70-unit apartment building in 2017.
A permit for 28 townhomes in phase two was approved earlier in 2019.
The 10-storey apartment building is phase three.
Phase four of the development could build another 124 units at this location.
The surrounding area includes a variety of land uses including commercial, institutional, single-family residential and multi-family developments.
The proposed apartment is located directly west of Robron Park, adjacent to the Cermaq Community Field.
Key concerns raised during the review of this application included the impact on views of the Strathcona Park Mountains, and how it would affect traffic on Dogwood.
The site plan includes walkways connecting Merecroft Village and Robron playing fields.
An initial traffic study confirms nearby intersections are built to handle increased traffic once people are living in all 302 units that could be built here.
Another study confirms that there is adequate water service and stormwater and sewer capacity to serve increased development in this area.
