The new Molson-Coors plant in Chilliwack took one more step through the red-tape process this week as city council approved the development permit for construction at Tuesday’s meeting.
The plan is to begin operating the new brewery, which replaces the Molson-Coors site in Vancouver, by mid-2018.
The application for the building at 45620 Kerr Rd. includes the construction of a 37,400-square-metre brewery processing plant comprised of process and packaging areas, warehousing, general services, offices and staff amenity areas, according to a city staff report.
The site plan also allows for a future expansion to a potential of 61,000 square metres. There is also a proposal for a 700-square-metre retail sales building to be fronted on Kerr Avenue.
Some conditions were recommended by the Design Review Advisory Committee at its April 12 meeting, all of which were agreed to by the applicant, Omicron AEC Ltd., a representative from which was present at the committee’s meeting. Those conditions include: extending the pedestrian sidewalk from the proposed retail store to the intersection of Yale Road and Kerr Avenue; adding bike storage; screening rooftop services; and ensuring adequate lighting for security and staff safety.
Previously the company asked for and received a variance to allow for a height up to 25 metres, specifically for storage tanks. The maximum permitted building height normally allowed for in the Agricultural Food Processing zone is 15 metres.
Recently city council also chose a proponent to build a wastewater treatment plant specifically to handle wastewater generated from the future brewery.
The “high strength” wastewater from the brewery will require “appropriate management to ensure that it does not negatively impact the existing process” at the plant, according to the staff report of April 4.
The new facility has to be up and running by mid-2018 to enable the plant to accept wastewater from the new brewery in the food processing park.