Richmond city council could remove any possible residential development along a strip of the Steveston waterfront.
City staff, based on direction from council, are recommending removing any residential uses on Bayview Street between 3rd Avenue and No. 1 Road and replacing it with a waterfront/commercial/industrial designation.
This would ensure it remains a commercial area and supports the fishing industry.
There are, however, currently two development applications along this strip.
At 3880 Bayview St., currently a vacant lot, there’s an application to build a three-storey building with parking at ground level and 22 residential units above with a height of 19 metres (about 57 feet).
The second application is to build a second storey onto an existing building at 3900 Bayview St. to have one residential unit with a building height of nine metres.
If these changes are approved by city council, staff would let the applicants know they should withdraw their applications.
City staff are also recommending reducing maximum building heights along this strip to nine metres (about 36 feet) from what’s currently allowed by the Steveston Area Plan, which is 20 metres (about 60 feet).
There is currently no residential development along this strip south of Bayview Street. City staff note, if there were, it could undermine the city’s objectives of “maximizing public use and access to and along the waterfront.”
Uninterrupted river boardwalk hits a wall
In the meantime, a plan to have to develop a continuous pedestrian walkway along the Steveston waterfront might not be possible.
Richmond city council asked staff to look into making a continuous walkway, but at least one lot has provincial permission to extend all the way out to the water.
The property owner of the lot where the Blue Canoe and other businesses are situated, at 3866 Bayview St., has a water lot licence for its building.
Therefore, city staff noted in a report going to this week’s planning meeting, there is no way to secure a walkway along the river at this site without redeveloping the entire property.
A plan put forward in February suggested building a walkway around the restaurant on the water.
Currently, pedestrians need to loop around the building and continue walking along Bayview Street until the boardwalk continues at Imperial Landing.
In February, city staff weren’t aware of a legal right-of-way to that portion of the waterfront, but they have since clarified the owner has a provincial “licence of occupation over the water lot” for commercial purposes.
“Discussions will continue with both (the province) and the (Steveston Harbour Authority) staff to find opportunities for a continuous waterfront walkway,” staff note in its report.
