COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE REPORT: REZONING APPLICATION NO. 2025-01 FOR 258 HELMCKEN ROAD

REZONING APPLICATION NO. 2025-01 FOR 258 HELMCKEN ROAD

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Committee recommend to Council:

THAT Council rescind second reading of Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1160, 2025;

AND THAT Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1160, 2025 be amended to reduce the minimum required floor area allocated to a Café use from 150m2 to 74m2;

AND THAT Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1160, 2025 as amended be given second reading;

AND FURTHER THAT following second reading, a public hearing date be scheduled for February 3, 2026.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to consider a request to amend Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1160, 2025 by reducing the proposed minimum required floor area allocated to a Café use from 150m2 to 74m2 in the commercial/residential mixed-use building at 258 Helmcken Road known as the “Royale.”

BACKGROUND:

The property is currently zoned CD-26, Island Highway / Helmcken Comprehensive Development Zone. The only permitted use in the commercial ground floor of the building is Neighbourhood Grocery. The commercial unit has been vacant since the building was granted conditional occupancy in June 2025.

November 4, 2025, Council meeting

Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1160, 2025 received first and second reading (see Attachment 2) to permit additional commercial uses and specifically allocate a minimum of 150m2 floor area for Café use to provide a public gathering space. At the Council meeting on November 4, 2025, Council passed the following motion:

THAT Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1160, 2025 be given first and second reading;

AND THAT staff work with the owner to establish agreed conditions for a covenant on title to secure a medical clinic on the ground floor to be brought forward to Council prior to consideration of third reading.

Following the Council meeting, the applicant met with staff to discuss the terms and conditions of the proposed covenant. The applicant agreed to commit to medical clinic use in the remaining commercial space for a family physician, nurse practitioner and/or medical specialist office for a minimum of ten years, to be secured in a covenant and registered on title prior to final adoption of the bylaw.

December 2, 2025, Council meeting

At the Council meeting on December 2, 2025, staff presented the proposed covenant terms to secure a medical clinic on the ground floor. Council discussed a desire to provide flexibility and continue to preserve the opportunity for a neighbourhood grocery store to meet the original community expectations for this building. Therefore, Council modified the draft terms by passing the following motion:

THAT a covenant be registered on the title of 258 Helmcken Road prior to adoption of Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1160, 2025 to require medical clinic use (i.e., family physician, nurse practitioner or medical specialist office) and/or neighbourhood grocery store in a portion of the ground floor commercial unit in the mixed-use building for a minimum of ten years.

The applicant has continued working with a prospective medical clinic tenant to work out the anticipated floor space needs. To meet those needs, the applicant is requesting to reduce the proposed minimum required floor area allocated to a Café use from 150m2 to 74m2.

ANALYSIS:

To supplement the applicant’s previous letter (Attachment 3) requesting the zoning amendment to permit a wider range of commercial uses on the ground floor, a prospective tenant working with the applicant on a potential for medical clinic here has submitted a letter (Attachment 4) supporting the proposal based on their floor area needs for a medical clinic to be viable. The prospective tenant proposes a unique facility with specialist and procedural services (minor surgery, rehabilitation, etc.) that are not available in one location anywhere else in the province.

To balance the space needs for the proposed medical clinic, one consideration is how much floor space is needed for a café to be functional. The current commercial floor area is 513.5m2 (including storage but not waste disposal). The current minimum allocation of 150m2 floor space for Café use specified in Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 1160, 2025 was loosely based on the average of 140m2 for recent leases in Attachment 5.

Table 1 illustrates how the proposal would compare to several cafes within the Town:

Table 1. Sample commercial units

The table above includes two existing establishments with less floor area than the proposal. The 69.4m2 main floor area of Nest Café includes the serving area, seating and a washroom. Additional storage area in the basement is not included in the 69.4m2 main floor area. The Nest has been popular with outdoor seating in the proximity to the Galloping Goose Regional Trail.

Carlina Café is a restaurant that includes a small kitchen within the 61.9m2 floor area. Although the customer area is small, the layout shown in Figure 1 accommodates small tables and 14-16 seats.