Two homes on Kitchener Street would be demolished to make way for new Shar-Kare

A downtown Ladysmith property owner is proposing to demolish two homes and build a new Shar-Kare Feeds & Pet Supplies on a neighbouring site.

The application received by the town for 11 and 17 Kitchener Street seeks to amend the Official Community Plan and rezone the sites from live/work residential to downtown commercial.

Currently there is a single-family home on each of the affected properties on the south side of the street.

The lots are between the existing Shar-Kare business on the corner of Kitchener and First Avenue and, separated by a lane way, the commercial building off Esplanade Avenue containing a Subway, tanning studio and sushi restaurant.

City council was in support of allowing the property owner to consolidate Lots 11 and 17 for the purposes of rezoning.

“I think it speaks very highly of the direction the community is going,” said Councillor Duck Paterson.

The new one-storey commercial building would be approximately 8,277 square feet, while the combined area of the two lots is 14,395 square feet. The size of the existing Shar-Kare property is unclear.

The owner of the property has proposed 16 on-site parking spaces as well as three to four more spots on Kitchener Street. There will also be room for a single loading space.

An artist rendering included in the report to council is not the proposed building design.

“We’re thrilled about having new investment in the community and the confidence that that speaks to our present and our future,” added Councillor Steve Arnett.

“The plan for us in terms of the process is to meet all of the things that we have in place, whether it’s heritage standards et cetera, but to do that in a way given our direction to make absolutely sure that people understand that we’re open for business.”

Staff also noted that prior to any development of the Kitchener Street properties a permit would be required, including a process that involves reviewing the proposed building design, materials, accessibility, parking and landscaping.

Ladysmith’s Advisory Planning Commission will now look over the application and provide comment. That group also includes a representative from the Heritage committee when reviewing these types of cases in the downtown.

Approval from the Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure will also be required because the properties are within 800 metres of the Trans-Canada Highway.

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