Sprawling warehouse proposal lures mixed reviews

By consolidating its operations into a 7,500-square-metre building off Range Road, the Tle'Nax T'awel Limited Partnership would keep large supply trucks out of the downtown and free up land in the city's core, city council was told Monday night.

By consolidating its operations into a 7,500-square-metre building off Range Road, the Tle’Nax T’awel Limited Partnership would keep large supply trucks out of the downtown and free up land in the city’s core, city council was told Monday night.

Council was presented with the proposal at its standing committee meeting when the application to amend the Official Community Plan (OCP) came forward.

The property at 100 Range Rd. is designated commercial-service in the OCP. The building proposed would be 4,000 square metres larger than the designation allows (1,500 square metres) which prompted the application to permit the larger building.

The property sits at the north end of the Whitehorse airport lands, close to where Range Road meets the Alaska Highway.

The structure would include offices, retail space, a warehouse and a terminal for transport trucks.

The size limit was placed on commercial service properties off the Alaska Highway in the 2002 OCP to “encourage nodes for small-scale commercial development,“ reads a report to city council.

“At this time, it was decided that big box development should be taking place in the north end of the downtown and not along the Alaska Highway corridor.

“The Alaska Highway is the gateway to our city and emphasis in both the OCP and zoning bylaw is placed on improving the aesthetics along the highway.“

The current downtown location of many of Tle’Nax’s operations means there are several supply trucks coming in, bringing an industrial use in a non-industrial area, Dave Pearson, Tle’Nax’s general manager of operations, told council last night.

“We believe it’s conducive to what you folks are moving the City of Whitehorse towards,“ he said.

It would also be a more efficient use of space by the business and open up land for others when the company moves, Pearson said.

Tle’Nax has also told the city the only sales from the Range Road location would be copiers and office equipment, which falls under the allowable uses as warehouse sales.

The number of trucks that would be coming into the new facility would be no different than the amount of traffic coming to

Tle’Nax’s downtown locations now, Pearson said. As well, the new site would be open primarily during regular business hours through the week, he added.

While a water main runs in front of the building, sewer lines along Range Road would have to be extended to the property if the development goes ahead.

Should the OCP amendment be done, the company would then have to go to the city for a zoning amendment because the size restriction of 1,500 square metres is also under the Highway Commercial zone the property falls under.

It was also noted in the report to council that in the most recent citizens’ survey taken earlier this year, 59 per cent of residents said they would be in favour of permitting large-scale commercial business development on the Alaska Highway.

Meanwhile, reaction to trucking terminals on the highway was mixed, council was informed.

“Staff will be addressing the issue of trucking terminals along the Alaska Highway during the OCP update this fall,“ reads the report to council.

“Staff met with property owners and a broad range of opinions were expressed. No clear consensus was arrived at with respect to future designations.“

While council won’t vote on first reading until its regular meeting next week, members’ responses to the proposal appeared mixed.

Coun. Dave Stockdale argued that while the city has accepted the OCP “as the Bible” in terms of planning for the city, it seems to go against that when proposals are made for new developments.

While the city has indicated in the OCP it wants to improve the aesthetics of highway developments, this development wouldn’t do that, he noted.

“I have a really hard time contradicting the OCP,“ Stockdale said.

Coun. Doug Graham also took issue with the report that came to council.

While it was noted in the report the OCP encourages “nodes” of development, Graham pointed out the nodes were encouraged for residential and small-scale business development.

“The encouragement we’re doing here is for local use and residential/commercial space and things like that. So what we’re doing is completely changing the particular piece of land. So don’t in one breath say this is what we’re encouraging because, to me, we’re not,“ Graham said.

Coun. Dave Austin argued in favour of the move, commenting it’s in a “great location” and would keep supply trucks on the highway rather than bringing them downtown.

Coun. Florence Roberts said she’d like to see it go ahead because it consolidates several enterprises into one and would open up land downtown.

If council approves first reading at its meeting next Monday, a public hearing on the proposal would be held on Aug. 11 with a report on that coming out Aug. 19.

Second reading would then come forward on Aug. 25, with third reading expected in September, pending territorial approval required for the OCP amendment.