A three-storey development on Normandy Road violates the Official Community Plan (OCP) and runs contrary to a position taken by council last October, Takhini West residents maintain.

At a public hearing on the proposed development at 26 Normandy Rd. in Takhini Monday night, members of council heard that to be consistent with the OCP and their previous commitments, the proposed condo unit in Takhini West must be restricted to two stories.

Making his position clear to council, Jordan Borgford, a Takhini West resident and development site neighbour, said he opposed rezoning the Normandy Road property from public utilities to a designation allowing a multi-family unit because it ran contrary to the OCP.

'I'm opposed to the rezoning of this property; the neighbourhood is mainly two-storey duplexes,' he said.

The OCP calls for development to be consistent with the neighbourhood, Borgford said.

Section 7.2 of the city's OCP states that common objectives in building in existing neighbourhoods are: to maintain the quiet and small character of neighbourhoods; and that developments should ensure that communities maintain their unique feel.

The Normandy Road development proposal has been coming before council for several months. The developers were originally looking to build a 32-unit project and area residents were looking for no more than eight units.

The two sides have compromised on 20 units but still disagree on whether the project should be two or three storeys.

Borgford said a three-storey building would be very 'intrusive' and negatively affect his ability to enjoy his property.

Borgford also invited Mayor Ernie Bourassa and all council members to his home to see what the impact of the development would have on himself and his family.

Fellow Takhini resident Richard Grant said he was wondering how the development proposal had ever reached three storeys. He'd been under the impression that council, at an Oct. 11, 2005 meeting, had decided the development should not exceed two storeys.

'In the Oct. 11 meeting, council said 20 units and two storeys,' Grant said.

'People are just going to see a high building,' he said explaining that 10.5 metres (35 feet), approximately 2.4 metres (eight feet) higher than neighbouring buildings, did not fit in with the area's character.

According to the minutes of council's Oct. 11 meeting, council members recommended the development, should it go forward, should have development restrictions including:

'The project density will not exceed a maximum of 32 townhouse units. The building height will not exceed two storeys.'

Takhini resident Spencer Rich said he also opposes a three-storey development and has already seen some negative impacts the proposed development has had on his neighbourhood.

'One thing that has definitely happened is that people are moving away,' he said.

Carole Bookless, president of the Porter Creek Community Association, said she would like to know how the project, if approved, would impact the neighbourhood's aging infrastructure.

'We all know these sewage pipes are old. Who's on the hook if the sewage system fails?' she asked.

The city, Bourassa answered, would be expected to pay for any problems experienced with the sewage system.

Wading into the discussion, Wayne Cunningham, one of the developers in the project, said he doesn't feel everyone opposes the three-storey concept and believes building up would actually make the development more compact and result in more green area on the property.

'If it was back to single-family houses, you would have homes even closer,' Cunningham said.

'Right now, almost 40 per cent of the property is covered in grass.'

Coun. Doug Graham asked him why and how the proposal reached three storeys after council had said it favoured two last October. Cunningham said he only became a partner earlier this year.

Upon doing so, he said, he determined that two storeys are not a workable idea.

'I wasn't involved previously,' he said. 'When I looked at the project, two stories didn't seem feasible.'