THUNDER BAY — City residents will get the chance to weigh in on a high-profile rezoning application, but they may not get an answer to the question of whether a Costco could be coming to the Central Avenue location.
A public meeting will be held on April 14 at city hall, just before the meeting where council will vote on a zoning amendment for 1091 Central Ave.
A floor plan of a proposed large retail warehouse sparked rumours a new Costco could be planned for the location, as the two have similar design features.
When asked about the possibility the proposed retail warehouse would be a Costco location, acting city planner Shannon Labelle said that information was not included in the zoning amendment application.
“That information wasn't provided to us, so I just don't have that information to share,” said Labelle.
She said the applicant may choose to speak at the public meeting to provide council with “comments on the application.”
However, it is up to the owner of the property to disclose any information on what the retail warehouse will be, she said.
The meeting is open to all and Labelle said residents living within 120 metres of the area have been notified by mail to come to council chambers to provide “any comments” on the zoning amendments.
A retail warehouse is already permitted under the current zoning, but “motor vehicle service use” is not, said Labelle.
The rezoning application asked to permit the use of motor vehicle service and to increase the gross floor area for a retail warehouse from 185 square metres to 20,000 square metres.
The application also wants to reduce the minimum landscaping from 20 per cent to 15 per cent and increase the driveway width from 9 metres to 9.5 metres.
The proposed change to the floor area would allow the site to have more than 215,000 square feet. A typical Costco averages 146,000 square feet in the United States.
The deadline to submit written comments and registration for online participation is Friday, April 11. More information is available on the city website.
