Whitehorse city council members heard a complaint from a resident over a proposed development Monday evening at their first regular council meeting of the year.

Cam Kos, who is no stranger to council, was on hand to protest and argue against the construction of a “giant three-storey” building in Porter Creek.

Kos also sent a lengthy email to the Star outlining his concerns before the meeting.

“For over a month now, I’ve driven by the subject property on Centennial and there was no “visible” sign of the upcoming rezoning application,” Kos said in his email.

“It wasn’t until last Friday I started asking neighbouring properties if they were coming to the public hearing tonight that someone (apparently not the city) finally swept a tiny sign off and moved it to a visible location that can be seen (but still not read) by passing traffic, only a couple days before the hearing.”

Kos told council that no one was interested in coming to the city to comment on the rezoning application because they considered it a “waste of time.”

Nearby residents, he continued, don’t want or like the development, but don’t believe the city would pay any attention to their concerns.

His primary concern was mostly aesthetic.

Kos said there is already one “giant three-storey” building in the area that really doesn’t fit into the neighbourhood.

A second, similar building has has been proposed. It would leave a lone single dwelling “sandwiched” between the two “massive” buildings, he said.

He told council he appreciates the need for more housing in the city, but that this Centennial Street location – near 12th Avenue – isn’t an appropriate spot.

“The last Centennial public hearing notification for a rezoning application four years ago and other previous rezoning applications I have seen had signs 10 times larger on a sheet of plywood, not a tiny sandwich board,” Kos said.

“Perhaps there was too much public input from those?”

He continued to list his complaints in the email.

“I don’t feel it is right nor fair to have a public hearing where so little was shown publicly for the application, especially for a plan that will affect a second street (Elm) due to the reduced lot dimensions as Centennial nears 12th Ave. (per city planning maps) as well as totally towering over the family that would be sandwiched between to the giant buildings,” Kos stated.

“Additionally, the first building from the numbered company from the east coast proponent STILL has not conformed to the mandatory green space gap between the multiple family property and the RS zoning behind it on Elm and caused the previous owners to move due to lack of privacy and vehicles parked along their back fence with exhaust and lights shining in their windows that previously was like a forested lot until the last Centennial construction removed all the trees and left nothing in what was was supposed to be a buffer zone.”