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Council reviews Victoria Condos sketch plat; parking and shoreland questions loom
Summary
City planner Bridal McCann presented a sketch plat for a 10-unit mixed-use condo building by Monarch Development in downtown Victoria; council discussion focused on parking math (net public parking gain vs. loss depending on showroom use), fire-department access, shoreland/impervious restrictions near Steiger Lake, and potential future joint parking or TIF options; no formal action was taken.
City planner Bridal McCann presented a sketch plat for the proposed Victoria Condos, a mixed-use concept from Monarch Development that would redevelop roughly 0.32 acres in downtown Victoria into a four-story structure with 10 two-bedroom condominium units, two ground-floor commercial spaces and a 20-space private underground garage.
McCann said the site falls within the city's Central Business District and fits the comprehensive plan density range (24–75 units per acre); the proposed density is about 31.25 units per acre. The plan would close two existing access points to the city parking lot and remove several evergreen trees; staff estimates a net increase of public parking stalls under current assumptions (86 total stalls proposed including private stalls, net public increase of 23), though that balance depends on what the private showroom becomes (a retail conversion could reduce the apparent public stall surplus to roughly today's level).
Council members raised multiple design and operational questions: the fire department requested the retention of an additional access point on Kwamaklit (which could reduce the parking count by up to four stalls), concerns were raised about visitor parking and overnight use of adjacent public lots, and council suggested exploring coordinated solutions such as a single-level parking deck supported by joint development or TIF financing. Developer Karl Ronk and co-developer Gane Homes said the condos are intended to be owner-occupied and that pre-sales will determine construction timing (possible late this year or spring); Ronk said the first floor is not fitted for restaurant ventilation and that Rich Gannon would retain ownership of the commercial ground floor and pursue compatible retail tenants.
Planner McCann also noted shoreland rules apply: the property sits within 1,000 feet of Steiger Lake and would need to comply with a 150-foot ordinary-high-water-level setback and impervious-surface standards used in the shoreland overlay (the existing site currently exceeds the CBD's 80% impervious standard, creating a nonconforming condition that would be addressed in future applications). Staff flagged the need for further stormwater/drainage details, a possible variance process, and a parkland dedication or cash-in-lieu (estimated at $21,000 for 0.2 acre). The planning commission had been generally supportive of the concept; no action was required at the sketch-plat stage.
Provenance: Planner Bridal McCann's presentation and the developer's responses comprised the bulk of the council's review of agenda item 6.2.
