The District of North Vancouver Council will meet on Monday to consider whether to uphold a staff decision to deny two companies from opening offices on a property zoned for local retail.
Utopia Nexus Developments Ltd. and Parspendar Holdings Inc. applied in January for business licences out of 776 Premier Street, a site currently zoned for small-scale retail that includes grocery, produce, baked goods and sundry household items but not alcohol. Offices aren’t allowed under the current zoning rules.
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The property once housed a janitorial company that operated under a “legal non-conforming” status — a grandfathered exception to zoning rules — but that business shut down in 2023. The exemption expired under provincial law because the office use was inactive for more than six months, notes the staff report to DNV.
The site was sold in May 2024 to DKB Massage & Spa Ltd. But when DNV inspectors visited the site, they found office activity already underway, despite no licences being issued. Inspectors noted that interior renovations had been done without permits.
The applicant, Mozhdeh Shekarisaz, told staff the changes had already been made and that denying the licences would cause financial hardship. Still, the District’s Chief Bylaw Officer has recommended that council uphold the denial, saying the office use doesn’t match the zoning’s intent.
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