Times-Chronicle Staff
A fan of high-performance vehicles proposes to construct a fabrication/race shop in the industrial area of Oliver.
Stuart Dickinson, president of VelocityAP, has submitted a development permit application for 214 Maple Avenue, where he wants to erect a manufacturing building.
He currently operates a light manufacturing business at 206 Maple Avenue that employs 10 people. The company exports its own brand of physical and electronic automotive products worldwide. It also operates a vehicle storage and maintenance program supporting the Area 27 racetrack.
“In order to accommodate the continued growth of our business, we need a larger, better suited facility,” Dickinson said. “We wish to keep the business in Oliver and keep our staff and employment local.”
To help store customers’ race car haulers and trailers on site, they need to maximize their yard space.
As part of the permit, the company is requesting a variance on the lot, a side parcel setback from three metres to 1.5 metres.
Dickinson said the building plans call for concrete tilt-up construction, including some architectural features and colour accents to “improve the look beyond a simple box.”
The company does not plan to alter the existing chain link fence.
Randy Houle, the town’s director of development services, said the proposed variance is consistent with the development trends of the neighbourhood.
Houle said staff feel the variance request is reasonable and the proposal does not impact the adjacent area.
Council plans to discuss the application this evening at its regular meeting.
Stuart Dickinson, a volunteer firefighter in Okanagan Falls, plans to build a fabrication/race shop in Oliver.
(File photo)
