A proposed eight-plex condo unit on Ogilvie Street would detract from the old town character of the downtown, city council heard at its meeting Monday night.

Ogilvie Street resident Mark Smith told council the spirit of the old town plan was to maintain the single-family residential flavour with some allowance for smaller multi-unit developments.

The eight-plex proposed by Narrow Gauge Construction directly across the street from Smith's home would be a big, solid block development, he said.

It would block out light and eliminate the feeling of openness which comes with separation between buildings on separate lots, he added.

"It will dwarf all other buildings on the street.”

Narrow Gauge and Suat Tuzlak of the Alpine Bakery have applied for special permission to build multi-unit dwellings downtown.

All three lots are zoned single-family residential, which allow for single-family detached homes or duplexes.

There is also a conditional use provision that allows for larger developments with the permission of council.

Narrow Gauge is seeking permission to build what it's calling Cowley Station, an eight-plex on two lots along the south side of Ogilvie, between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Tuzlak wants to build a five-plex rental property on a single lot at the southwest corner of Jarvis Street and Seventh Avenue.

Both applications are scheduled to come back before city council for further discussion next Monday, with the final vote scheduled for Jan. 30.

Like Smith, Black Street resident Nathan Miller suggested council must use caution when considering such applications.

Miller said the plan for downtown calls for an emphasis on maintaining a single-family, low-density approach to development.

"I know there are a lot of residents in the downtown who are concerned about development in the area and the application of zoning and the change of zoning in the downtown,” he said.

Miller said both applications before city council require a much larger density than is currently recommended for the downtown area.

Does council, he asked, intend to accept all conditional use applications?

"Are we going to move to large apartment-style developments in the downtown?”

Kevin James, on the other hand, told council he supports Tuzlak's proposal for the five-plex and the plan to make it a super-green structure.

Increasing density helps to reduce urban sprawl while making greater use of existing infrastructure to enhance sustainability, said James, himself a developer who's just completed a multi-unit project on Jarvis Street.

James said restricting the downtown area to single-detached homes only increases the burden on the tax base.

It also nhibits a greater blend of the socio-economic classes by restricting access to those who can't afford a $450,000-plus home, he added.

If the city wants to promote a mix of those living in different economic classes, it needs to look at a mix of developments, said James, adding that he too supports the Narrow Gauge proposal.

Bernard Buckles, a member of the Downtown Community Association, said there are examples of conditional use developments that have fit nicely into the downtown area.

Phoenix Rising, the three-plex built at the end of Wheeler Street by Habitat for Humanity, works well, and is not intrusive with its location at the end of the street, Buckles told council.

But put it in the middle of the block and it becomes another story; it becomes a large building overshadowing the neighbouring homes, he said.

Buckles suggested proposed developments these days tend to use up every square inch of property they're allowed to build on, to the maximum height allowed.

"I do not think it is fair to the neighbours that you allow these large monstrosities to be built.”

The member of the community association did tell council he supports the Tuzlak application, as it is not an imposing structure.

Rob Fendrick, the city's director of administrative service, said the city has received nine written submissions on the Narrow Gauge application: two opposed; six with concerns and one in support.

He said there were 12 submissions on the Tuzlak application: four with concerns and eight in support.