By Steve Hubrecht
The proposed Columbia Valley Metis Association (CVMA)-Metis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) housing project got its development permit last week.
Invermere council approved the permit during its Tuesday, Feb. 25 meeting, which also effectively triggered the Official Community Plan (OCP) and zoning bylaw amendments that allow the project to go ahead. Councillors had given initial reading to the amendments back in the fall, but held off on adoption pending a development permit.
The project became one of the hottest issues in Invermere back in spring 2024, when plans for it first became public. A pair of public hearings in 2024 drew comparatively large crowds (150 to 160 at an April public hearing, and then 50 to 60 at another one in September). At both hearings local residents spoke fervently for and against the project.
Having discussed the matter at length at several council and committee of the whole meetings throughout the past year, Invermere councillors had little left to say during the February 25 meeting and readily agreed to approve the development permit.
There are still several steps to go, however, before any construction can begin. The CVMA and MNBC need to get a building permit, and they also need to secure funding for the project.
Invermere planner Rory Hromadnik pointed out the development permit will expire in two years if construction “has not substantially progressed.” He added that timeline can be amended, and said it in fact might need to be amended depending how long it takes the CVMA and MNBC to get enough grants and other funding to start building.
CVMA president Topher Burke wasn’t concerned, telling the Pioneer after the meeting that “I believe the likelihood of (getting) funding within two years is high.” Having the development permit means that “now we can pursue funding more easily . . . the project is that much more appealing to potential funders with this permit in place.”
In January Burke had explained that the CVMA and MNBC had applied for funding in the past but had been unsuccessful primarily because permits had yet to be approved and consequently the project was not considered “shovel-ready.”
Although there are still more steps to come, Burke said he was “very excited . . . we’ve been working on this for a long time, planning and talking for at least three years now. To be at this stage now, to have the development permit, I’m happy.”
Burke’s palpable enthusiasm was shared by CVMA’s Pheobe Goulet, who told the Pioneer that many in the local Metis community “are really just excited.”
The CVMA and MNBC modified their plan after the first public hearing in April 2024, changing to a three-storey building (down from a four storey building) with 41 housing units (up from 36 units) and eliminating an initially planned CVMA cultural centre.
The development permit is meant to help council keep control of the style of the project and also means the new high-density zoning on the property will not necessarily remain in place if the affordable housing is not built and the land instead is sold.
Screenshot of proposed design
