Residents upset with Aspen Road development in Comox

Some neighbours of a multi-family development called Aspen East in the Town of Comox are voicing concerns about it, citing lack of communication with the developer, high density and lack of safe pedestrian access in the area.

One major concern they’ve shared is that the informal trail they have used for years to access nearby roads has been cut off due to construction, making walking in the area a safety hazard for residents.

At a town council meeting on July 8, Julie Micksch who lives on Acacia Road adjacent to a development at 941 Aspen Rd. said that with the path closed, the only pedestrian access to the main Guthrie Road is to walk along a narrow shoulder of Anderton Road.

“The closure of the access trail from Hector Road to Aspen Road has impacted family life, public safety, seniors, disabled peoples and one-vehicle family citizens in an incredibly harmful way,” Micksch said at the meeting.

She said pedestrians, including parents with young children, have to cross the busy Anderton Road which has no crosswalk at Hector Road, or illegally walk along the side of the road with traffic passing them from behind at speeds of over 60 km/hr. 

Micksch said the detour route suggested by the developer, Highstreet Ventures, was “illegal” and said she was prepared to go to court if necessary. 

Construction of the development, which will consist of five, four-storey residential buildings with 280 units and 26 townhomes, is estimated to take until late 2026 or early 2027. Once construction is completed, Hector Road will be extended to Aspen Road and provide pedestrian access via sidewalks. 

In addition to the 941 Aspen development, there is also an application for an 84-unit townhouse development by Broadstreet at 2123 Hector Road and possible future plans for a development at 2077 Hector Road that could include another 500 apartment units and 10 townhouses.

Eric Delorme, a development manager from Highstreet Ventures, spoke to the town council about the variances the company was asking for, which included changing an internal setback on the property and allowing an additional storey for one building in the building plan. 

The additional storey would not change the building’s height but a variance was needed because part of the underground parking for the building will be exposed due to the grade of the land and count as a storey.

Delorme said the informal trail that residents have been using ran through private property, and the company is building a “greenway trail” to provide public access from Hector Road to Aspen Road. 

“We just need to be able to build it,” he said. 

Delorme said the company thought it was “doing the right thing” by suggesting that people could use Anderton Road as an alternative and said it would be removing that signage.

Interview requests sent to Highstreet Ventures by email and phone were not returned. 

Residents hold protest before council meeting

Before the council meeting, about a dozen people gathered outside to protest the development. 

In an email to The Discourse, Micksch said that despite opposition from residents the Town of Comox approved multiple development projects in the area that will increase density and add thousands of people to the neighbourhood. Micksch said that the total number of people expected to be added is equivalent to the population of Ucluelet. 

“They are cramming this number of people into our once rural residential neighbourhood,” she said in the email. “You can imagine the chaos our neighbourhood is experiencing as the machinery and chainsaws are running at full speed before anything stops them.”

Micksch also said residents have tried contacting Highstreet Ventures, the Town of Comox, the Comox Valley Regional District and the Ministry of Transportation but feel that their concerns are not being heard.

“No one is listening and we are exhausted,” she said.

According to a report from the Comox Valley Record, residents in Area B of the Comox Valley Regional District — which includes Hector and Acacia Roads — were also frustrated at what they said was a disregard for their opinions by the town council because they can’t vote in town elections.

Councillor says housing should be balanced ‘with care and compassion for the community’

David Dyer, who owns and lives on the property beside the development, said he was not opposed to the town’s efforts to encourage more housing but proposed that the planned location for the townhouses be moved to beside his property instead of one of the taller multi-family buildings. He also suggested the developer reduce the height of one of the buildings by one storey.

Delorme said an alternative plan was reviewed by the company but reducing the number of units was “not financially feasible.” He said that current zoning allows up to 150 residential units per hectare and the current site plan is at just over 80 per hectare. 

“So we’re already on the low end,” he said, adding that the setback for the building beside Dyer’s home was shifted back to 25 metres away from the property line instead of nine metres. 

Coun. Jenn Meilleur was the lone vote against the variances, and told The Discourse that she wasn’t opposed to the specific variance requests, but was concerned about how it would be integrated into the existing community. 

“It’s a question of how we balance housing with care and compassion for the community and the people who live there, and for the environment,” she said.

Meilleur said the town needs more housing built but wished that the developer had worked with local residents more to create a better transition between it and the semi-rural single-family homes that are just outside the town boundary in the regional district. 

She said the density of the development is compliant with the town’s Official Community Plan and will help create a more walkable and complete neighbourhood with amenities such as space for retail businesses and a daycare centre. 

Highstreet Ventures will also be paying $728,000 towards the town’s affordable housing reserve but none of the units in the development will be below market housing.

Town says housing is needed with growing population and new military personnel

In a statement on July 9, the Town of Comox said the Aspen and Hector development has been under planning for over 10 years and “represents the type of investment that helps address housing demand while delivering benefits to residents.”

The town said the region is experiencing population growth, including the anticipated arrival of 1,100 additional military personnel and their families. The development will provide housing as well as neighbourhood amenities that will contribute to the economy, according to the town. 

The statement also noted that the province mandated the town to pre-zone land for 3,300 units and that there was a growing demand for studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and townhomes. 

Micksch said she supports density to preserve green space but wanted better buffers and trails to connect residents with local greenways. 

“We have done our best to show that we can have density work here, but it has to be done in the way that’s considerate to those that are your neighbours, and Highstreet has been the most inconsiderate neighbours,” Micksch said.