Times Chronicle Staff
Oliver Town council is considering a zoning amendment to allow the residential conversion of Oliver United Church.
The applicant, Rogers Management Group from Abbotsford, proposes to amend the Official Community Plan (OCP) and rezone 511 Church Street to facilitate new uses, namely rental apartments. There is also an application to allow for the construction of a four-unit townhouse on a neighbouring property at 545 Church Avenue (an empty lot used for parking).
“We would like to preserve the form and character of the property for the community by repurposing it rather than tearing it down,” the company states.
The plan is to rent part of the building back to the church so that it can carry on worship services upstairs in the sanctuary. The leftover portion (first floor and part of the second floor) will be renovated into apartments for a total of six – four downstairs and two upstairs.
“Those who approach us to live there will be aware that the church has services and they must be courteous to their service,” said the company, adding there will be an addendum to allow this without interference.
The 545 Church Avenue property will continue as a parking lot for the church’s needs, but the long-term plan is to build a four-unit, three-storey structure that will include two family sized condominiums and two smaller suites.
The church itself has informed the Times Chronicle that it sold the property to Rogers for financial reasons due to a dwindling congregation. As a result, its downstairs soup kitchen will discontinue, however, plans are afoot to offer the service at a new location.
Randy Houle, the town’s Director of Development Services, said staff believe the proposed development represents the best use of the land. He noted that changing the OCP designation from high density residential to Town Centre will allow the church to co-exist with the residential uses.
Houle said the church, built in the 1930s, is not protected provincially or federally, but it is still a heritage asset considering its features and character.
“The proposal to renovate the church rather than demolish it is in line with heritage principles,” he stated. “The current proposal is a more desirable outcome in a time where housing, especially rental, is so desperately needed in our community.”
Houle also noted there is ample on-street parking along Church Avenue and Kootenay Street to accommodate any visitor parking for the next five years.
A public hearing is planned on March 27 in council chambers.
