We should all care about what happens at Comox marina
Dear editor,
A notice appeared in print recently referring to the public being invited to look at designs for a hotel near Harbour Quay.
Readers may not realize that this is a proposal for a newly designed hotel on the old Edgewater Pub property in the heart of the Comox Marina recreational area.
There have been other proposals for development of a hotel at the waterfront; the last one was approved by the Town council in 2008.
It was a three-storey building with 62 strata hotel units; it was to stand 32 feet high and be 5.5 metres from the shore.
Seven variances to the Town bylaws were approved to accommodate the design (www.myoceanliving.com/en/home.php).
As a neighbour, I received a letter on Dec. 30, 2012, inviting me to view the revised plans for the hotel that would “require an amendment to our approved Development Permit and a revision to our current zoning.”
On Jan. 2, I was able to look at the plans at the Comox Bay Marina and residences office. The revised development plan included a four-storey, 51-foot tall building with 30 hotel suites, 48 apartments, a restaurant, boutiques and an airline office.
In addition, there were architectural drawings for a second residential building with 40 units on the property above the hotel/residence.
Altogether, there would be 88 new residential properties and 30 hotel suites. I do not know if the plans I viewed are the same ones that will be presented at the public meeting.
Given the recreational value of the Comox waterfront, which provides a beautiful green space with magnificent views of the Beaufort Range and the Comox Glacier, the Comox Harbour Breakwater Promenade Walkway, the Comox Municipal Marina and a boat launch, I think all residents of the Town of Comox and the Comox Valley have a vested interest in what will be built on the old Edgewater Pub property.
This is not just a Harbour Quay matter; all of us who care about the Comox Marina Park should take the time to have a look at the designs for the new development.
The public has been invited to give their ideas and input. The meeting is at the Blackfin Pub banquet room on March 6 at 7 p.m.
Darrell J. Tomkins,
Comox
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