Onni’s application to rezone the Steveston boardwalk from maritime to commercial use has been moved to a public hearing.
All councillors, except Harold Steves, Carol Day and Chak Au, voted for the move during Monday’s council meeting.
The rezoning proposal mandates that Onni pay the city $5.5 million in amenity contributions, which reflects the increased value of the properties after rezoning.
The proposal also stipulates that Onni can only build a hotel on the site if it provides permanent 24/7 staff to supervise it.
Onni proposed a remote operation model for a 32-unit hotel on the site last week, which raised concerns among councilors over a possible lack of supervision.
The requirement for permanent hotel staffing will also apply to any future owners of the property.
“We wanted it registered on the title of the hotel, so that if Onni sells the property to somebody else, the new owners will still be required to fulfill that requirement,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
Coun. Linda McPhail said that the long-standing issues over Onni’s proposal are moving in the right direction.
“I’m in favour of a hotel. There is a high occupancy rate in Richmond and we don’t see demand decreasing. I think a hotel in Steveston will do really well,” said McPhail.
She said the reason that council had put the requirement in the legal agreement is because there is “public mistrust about Onni.”
“What we ask from Onni, we don’t ask everybody else; no other hotel in Richmond is asked to do that,” said McPhail.
“We are putting in safeguards that will help the community feel better about the hotel.”
However, Steves and Day voiced their disappointment at having the rezoning moved forward at the council meeting.
“There is a long history (with Onni), and not just about the hotel. Basically, what Onni wants, Onni gets,” said Steves.
“What we are seeing is that there is no affordable housing, no childcare; we put all our resources into one basket, which is supposed to be for a marina and maritime uses, but we are not getting any of that; we are getting a hotel.”
“I just say that we can’t support Onni any any longer.”
Day agrees and said she’d still like to see staff come back with a proposal that reflects maritime usage.
Further consultations on this project will take place at the public hearing on May 22.
