Development community in shock after new Comox council votes to downzone proposed condo site - CBC

An artist rendering of the proposed six-storey condo building on Comox Avenue in the Town of Comox, on Vancouver Island. (Town of Comox)Social SharingHousing developers on Vancouver Island say they are shocked by the Town of Comox's council decision to change the zoning of a previously approved condo building from six storeys to four.

Zoning for the proposed building on Comox Avenue, the main road that leads to the town's centre, was changed during a bylaw update earlier this year.

Rick Fisher, a partner in the development project, says he has already spent $340,000 on the 44-unit project, and was about to submit his construction permit. The Town of Comox confirmed the project was granted its development permit last Tuesday.

"This is really bad faith," said Fisher. "This is egregious."

Developer Rick Fisher says the property at 1890 Comox Avenue has sat vacant for the last five years. (Maryse Zeidler/CBC)

Rory Kulmala, CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association, says council's decision affects more than a single project.

"No developer's going to want to build there," Kulmala said. "At a time when communities are working to increase housing supply, we need planning processes that are consistent."

Fisher and Kulmala said they'd never heard of a property being downzoned on Vancouver Island, especially this late in the application process.

At the town's first council meeting on Wednesday since October's civic election, re-elected Coun. Jonathan Kerr spoke at length before announcing his intent to vote in favour of having staff prepare a zoning amendment for the property.

Kerr referred to the vocal opposition that came out of the town's official community plan (OCP) process earlier this year, which allowed six-storey buildings along some of the municipality's main arterials.

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"During the recent municipal election this newly elected group of councillors and many volunteers knocked on 2,127 doors in just three weeks," he said.

"We asked residents what issues mattered most to them, and the number one issue we heard from a whopping 32 per cent of all doors we knocked on was growth, development, the OCP and community character."

The soon-to-be-downzoned property, seen on the left of this image, is on one of the main roads that lead to the Comox town centre. (Maryse Zeidler/CBC)

Kerr noted that the two councillors who voted against the OCP were voted back in, and the four who voted in favour of it were not.

He also mentioned the subsequent provincial election, which saw the B.C. Conservatives win a majority after pledging a platform that included repealing Bill 44 — a housing bill put forward from the NDP to pressure municipalities to build more housing.

All six councillors voted in favour of the motion to have staff prepare a zoning amendment bylaw change.

Comox Mayor Nicole Minions opposed the motion, explaining that although she had voted against the OCP, she had voted in favour of the initial bylaw change that allowed six storeys for that property.

Minions declined to comment on council's decision, citing the "potential legal nature of the discussion."

Asked if he is planning to file a lawsuit against the town, Fisher said "all options are on the table."

"We have to try to defend ourselves on this."

Fisher says he bought the property in 2019. After a previous attempt to develop a rental building failed a few years ago, he put the project on hold.

He then resubmitted a new proposal for private condos in 2025, after he says the town encouraged him to do so.

"It was the simplest, fastest process I'd ever seen," he said.

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Then, he says, he got a call from town staff Friday afternoon saying the project was on Wednesday's agenda to be downzowned.

Fisher says building a four-story apartment complex doesn't make financial sense, given the cost of the project. He doesn't think any bank would lend him the money to build something with such small returns.

"I don't believe you'll see anybody developing Comox for at least five years now," he said, adding that he has gotten dozens of calls from developers equally as shocked by the decision.

"This is such bad business for a municipal government."

Maryse Zeidler is a reporter with CBC British Columbia who covers news from Nanaimo and north Vancouver Island. You can reach her at maryse.zeidler@cbc.ca.