Plans to build a 14-storey mixed-use tower in James Bay will be in limbo for several more months. Victoria council has directed staff to review the project again to make sure it fits with the city’s newest land-use guidelines.

The property bordered by Quebec, Montreal and Kingston streets — currently largely a surface parking lot — has been proposed by developer Mike Geric Construction to be the site of 108 homes, to be realized in a 97-unit tower and 11 three-bedroom townhome units.

The developer also has plans for a cafe and a daycare space on the site. The latter would be sold to a non-profit operator for $1.

The project, which had been narrowly approved in principle by council earlier this year, was scheduled for a public hearing on Oct. 9.

But a major update to Victoria’s Official Community Plan on Oct. 2 means that there will no longer be one.

Victoria senior planner Rob Bateman confirmed to council that the project cannot have a public hearing as the Local Government Act prohibits public hearings for projects that fit within a municipality’s Official Community Plan.

Staff said they don’t think the project will require council to make further OCP amendments under the new plan, but acknowledged that a full review — involving the planning, parks, and engineering departments — under the new guidelines has not been done.

Mayor Marianne Alto asked to refer the project back to staff to ensure that a full review of the project under the new guidelines is made, saying that it “warrants a thorough second look.”

Coun. Chris Coleman noted that the project would likely not please everyone.

“When this application first came to us, the recommendation from staff was to actually send it back and have more work done. We chose to go a different direction — we chose to move it forward to a public hearing,”

said Coleman.

“I think actually sending it back to staff to do greater investigation is the right direction.”

Council voted 6-3 in favour of bringing the matter back to staff, with councillors Dave Thompson, Jeremy Caradonna and Matt Dell opposed.

Coun. Marg Gardiner raised concerns about whether the public was sufficiently aware of the fact that the project, under the new OCP guidelines, would no longer have a public hearing.

Staff said the public received the same amount of information as the developer, all of which is posted on the city’s website.

Gardiner, who is opposed to the project, said “her stomach churned” when she found out that there was a public hearing scheduled for July and the developer had said they weren’t available.

As the OCP update only came in October, the public hearing would have been a valid process had it occurred in the summer.

Coun. Steve Hammond asked if staff have any idea whether to expect “Victorians, or people from out of town, or the province, to live in these new condos.”

Alto said it would be unfair to ask staff a question that they could not answer.

Staff noted at the council meeting that the project could be further delayed if the mail-workers’ strike at Canada Post is not resolved, as the city needs to mail out notifications to nearby residents and businesses before council can make a final decision.

About 20 people had gathered in city hall chambers to watch the deliberations on Thursday.

The project was previously sent back to the drawing board in 2024 after council deemed 17 storeys too tall.

Currently, there are three buildings above 12 storeys tall within an immediate block of the proposed project.

Plans call for the developer to sign agreements ensuring a contribution of $1 million to the city’s housing reserve fund, and that no less than 15 per cent of the non-townhouse homes would be built as two- or three-bedroom units to increase the amount of family-oriented housing in the city.

The project would have 119 residential vehicle parking spaces and five commercial parking spaces, as well as 160 spaces for bicycle parking.

Staff say the $1 million contribution could help non-profit housing operators provide between 100 and 150 units of lower-cost housing.

The city is estimated to have an overall housing shortage of 8,000 homes, in addition to a shortage of lower-cost housing.