A new Suburu and Porsche dealership with accompanying servicing department is going ahead at the intersection of the Island Hwy. and Rutherford Rd. (City of Nanaimo)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

start your engines

New highway car dealership given green light by Nanaimo council

Feb 8, 2022 | 8:58 AM

NANAIMO — Shovels are due in the ground shortly to build a new car dealership in the city.

Through a 7-2 vote, councillors gave approval to the project near the Rutherford Rd. intersection of the Island Hwy. The dealership will be on land southeast of the intersection on Wills Rd.

Three new buildings will feature on the site, including sales offices for both Porsche and Suburu vehicles along with an attached service centre.

Objections were raised by coun. Tyler Brown who noted the proposal did not go through the usual design advisory panel review.

A development application received in January 2020 was set to be discussed at a meeting of the panel in March 2020.

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The meeting was cancelled due to the onset of the pandemic and the pitch never found its way back.

“I do think it should go to the design panel, the panel I find often provides really good commentary on how an application design can better integrate or better meet the intention of the development permit guidelines,” Brown said. “I think there was plenty of time to incorporate that within the last year.”

Jeremy Holm, director of development approvals told Brown the City did provide feedback and adjustments to the developer via a letter, with a handful of changes made as a result.

Ultimately, desire to see something on the property outweighed any concerns of process for a majority of council.

“When we first approved this going in to being a car dealership at the beginning of our term, I said I wanted something on this land before the four years was up so I just hope they can get it built fast,” coun. Zeni Maartman said.

Support for the project wasn’t always so clear cut, however.

Following a 2019 public hearing, councillors approved the disputed rezoning application, from Ontario-based Gain Auto Group, by a narrow 5-4 vote. The vote went against a staff recommendation to deny the project.

Staff submitted a lengthy report outlining “serious concerns” about the impact the development would have on the official community plan.

The dealership went against an initial vision to transition the property into medium to high density residential complex.

Ultimately councillors sided with the economic upside of the car dealership at the location, while some councillors questioned whether high density housing was a good fit adjacent to the Island Hwy.

The dealership is poised to occupy a vacant site which had been the home of a garden nursery business.

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