Nanaimo City Council are again one vote away from rezoning the further Howard Johnson Hotel site, paving way for a major development of the area. (City of Nanaimo/D'Ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism)

By Alex Rawnsley

high profile development

Howard Johnson rezoning still supported amid ‘significant concerns’ from SFN

Apr 19, 2024 | 6:27 AM

NANAIMO — A proposed development at the gateway of the city’s downtown is back to where it was earlier this year, despite continued objections from Snuneymuxw First Nation (SFN).

Re-zoning of the former Howard Johnson Hotel site across multiple lots on Comox Rd., Mill St., and Terminal Ave. again passed third reading after an uneventful public hearing on Thursday, April 18 where no speakers presented in person or over the phone.

Council then approved third reading of the zoning changes, as well as a land use contract discharge bylaw, returning the project to where it was exactly one month ago.

The decision Thursday came despite continued written objections from SFN.

Citing their 1854 Treaty rights, Chief Michael Wyse submitted a five-page letter to the public hearing on behalf of the Nation, outlining several concerns about the expansive project, which proposes 760 residential units, along with a hotel and commercial retail space.

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Included in Wyse’s concerns were environmental impacts as a result of proposed setbacks along the Millstone River being below the current 30-metre minimum.

Wyse also said the developer has failed to “satisfactorily address” the archaeological significance of the subject property.

The proposed development would substantially alter the skyline and profile of the northern gateway to downtown Nanaimo. (City of Nanaimo/D’Ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism)

In Wyse’s opinion, a prior archaeological impact assessment left “significant concerns” about potential remains or artifacts on the site, which was once a historic Indigenous settlement known as Swayxum Village.

“We believe that there is high probability that an archaeological site was missed in this area given the shallow depth machine tests [in a particular area],” Wyse wrote in his letter.

The space in question is less than 50 metres from where ancestral burials were identified, according to Wyse.

He added previous work in the area has uncovered two intact burials and as many as 10 individual remains.

SFN is concerned about the required excavation for proposed underground parking and a resource management company the First Nation hired recommended certain areas of the current parking lot be excavated under the direction of “a qualified archaeologist.”

Wyse also stated the overall design of the property should be better connected to the history of the area.

“There are much better ways in which a development on this site could address and incorporate the site’s indigenous history in ways that would improve the residential and commercial character.”

Council actions
Coun. Paul Manly was the lone vote against the bylaw changes, while coun. Hilary Eastmure declared a conflict of interest and abstained from voting.

Coun. Sheryl Armstrong was absent from the meeting.

With third reading approved, Council can accept no further submissions or information regarding the project until a vote on final adoption at a future Council meeting.

The City must also receive approval on the project from the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure prior to the re-zoning being approved.

Project history
Originally pitched to the City in 2021, the project would substantially transform one of the busiest intersections in Nanaimo.

A public hearing in 2022 drew over 30 local residents who were largely supportive of the project, however more concentrated objections from Snuneymuxw First Nation in September 2022 introduced a lot of uncertainty.

High-rise buildings and more modest medium-rise structures are planned, should parties agree on the future of the property. (City of Nanaimo/D’Ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism)

Acting Chief Bill Yoachim said at the time the property is on a former Snuneymuxw village site and against an 1854 treaty signed near the proposed development.

Their concerns escalated in May 2023, with a statement from Chief Mike Wyse saying a 2019 agreement with the City regarding shared vision on land use was “now single-handedly being put at risk and dismantled” should development continue.

A statement from SFN said any progress made at the site “will be plagued by opposition from our Nation, delays from inevitable archaeological discoveries, and challenges that are insurmountable without us.”

Their objections effectively halted any progress through City channels, with Council deferring adoption of rezoning bylaws on multiple occasions.

A mediation process between the developer, Snuneymuxw First Nation and the provincial government began in 2023, with no resolution as recently as March 2024.

Thursday’s public hearing resulted from Council actually moving backwards in their process in March, rescinding a previously given third reading of the bylaws.

Closed since the fall of 2018, the Howard Johnson Hotel has sat in a continuing state of decay ever since.

Most recently, RCMP officers used the facility for explosives training exercises in early March.

An internal network of streets are planned to navigate between the buildings, as well as to establish connections to Comox Rd. and Maffeo Sutton Park. (City of Nanaimo/D’Ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism)

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