A home at 1123 Sixth Ave. will be torn down to make way for a new luxury home after council approved a permit for the site that lays near a slope atop the Southeast Hill.--News Photo Collin Gallant
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A plan to build a new luxury home on an outcropping of the Southeast Hill will be allowed to proceed after council approved the development permit last week.
That came over the objections of neighbours who feared work to install piles and a new foundation could destabilize the slope of their own foundations.
It was the second time Rick Wahl, of Wahl Construction, had applied to build a home for personal use at 1123 Sixth Ave. SE and demolish the existing home near the end of the Sixth Avenue Trail.
It comes with the requirement that the developer certify a geotechnical study of the area and follow conditions laid out by the city’s planning department. That would release the city from potential liability, but the developer is confident in the project, he told a public hearing at council on Oct. 16.
“We’ve stayed in business because we aren’t haphazard with our projects,” Wahl said. “If we didn’t feel confident, we wouldn’t have applied to do it.”
Council voted 9-0 in favour of the project, which administrators say is in line with a policy to promote redevelopment and improvement of infill housing sites.
Council is required to approve all development permits on land zoned as “direct control” districts.
Wahl applied to have the permit approved in 2022, but the issue was defeated at council in a 4-4 vote after neighbours objected saying they worried heavy construction near their homes would compromise foundations and the hillside in general.
A written submission from Ray Hoger, a resident of 11th Street, which the house fronts upon, stated he still has questions about the eventual effect of disturbing the hillside near other homes.
Since the general area has setbacks from the slope following a 2012 city survey of slope stability, several residents argued that the potential for slippage should be re-examined along 12th Street, which the site in question faces.
“My concern is regarding the driving of these piles (causing vibration),” the letter read. “The question asked one year ago, and again today remains the same.”
The author of the geotechnical report said the vibrations from heavy construction are imperceptible from 50 feet away from work.
“There’s not a black and white answer (in terms of liability) … but the project is being taking on by the developer at their risk,” said Randi Bruckner, an engineer with the city’s planning department. “That’s the purpose of the reliance letter and the engineer’s letter.”
Wahl said the proposed building at its closest point is 110 feet away from the nearest building, and general development rules allow foundation work within five feet of a neighbouring property.
The site was also the subject of a council decision in 2016 when the city’s land office made an offer to purchase the home and land, despite a long-standing plan to fold it into the environmental reserve at the end of the nearby Sixth Avenue Trail. At that time, council voted down the purchase, stating it was developable and should be offered to the private sector.
