66-home apartment buildings, 3022 Island Highway West
Residential buildings on a commercial lot on the waterfront highway. Council refused an 88-unit version in September 2024, 4–1. A 66-unit version on the same site was approved in April 2026, about 19 months later.
- Town tax delayed (our estimate)
- $115K over 19 months
- Not built
- 66 homes, for 19 months
- Where it stands
- Refused Sep 2024, approved Apr 2026. Residential buildings on a commercial-zoned site. Council refused the height and setback variance for five-storey buildings with 88 units in September 2024, 4–1 (Harrison opposed). A variance for three-storey buildings with 66 apartments on the same site was approved in April 2026, so this counts 19 months of delay, and 22 fewer homes than first proposed.
What it is
3022 Island Highway West is zoned Commercial 8. The applicant proposed five-storey residential buildings with 88 units and asked for a development variance permit, chiefly to raise the maximum height from 7.5 m to 19.51 m, with small setback reductions at two corners.
On September 11, 2024 Council refused the variance. The motion was moved by Mayor Westbroek and seconded by Councillor Skipsey, and carried with Councillor Harrison opposed (Resolution 24-232).
A revised plan for three-storey buildings with 66 apartments, presented as fitting the 2025 Official Community Plan, came to Committee of the Whole on February 18, 2026. Council approved the variance and the development permit unanimously on April 22, 2026. So this is a delay of about 19 months, with 22 fewer homes than first proposed.
What happened
- August 13, 2020An earlier development permit for a 90-unit condominium development on the site is approved.
- March 30, 2023A variance application for three five-storey residential buildings is made and recorded as refused on the Town's tracker. It does not appear in the 2023 Council minutes.
- September 11, 2024Council refuses the variance, 4–1, Councillor Harrison opposed.
- September 5, 2025The Town's development tracker records a new variance application for the site (file 2025-DVP-02).
- February 18, 2026The revised plan, three storeys and 66 apartments, is presented to Committee of the Whole. The previous version had five storeys and 88 units.
- March 4, 2026Council asks staff to bring the application forward at the earliest opportunity (unanimous).
- April 22, 2026Council approves the development variance permit and the development permit, both unanimously.
Why it matters
- Town property tax: about $115,000 over 19 months, our estimate. That is 66 apartments at the Vancouver Island benchmark apartment price for August 2026 ($401,900), times the Town's 2026 rate ($2.7401 per $1,000), which comes to about $73,000 a year. Because a smaller version was approved in April 2026, we count the 19 months from the refusal to the approval rather than every year.
- The staff report attached to the September 11, 2024 agenda is a scanned document with no searchable text, so we have taken the description of the variance from the Town's development tracker and the decision from the minutes.
Sources
- Regular Council minutes, Sep 11, 2024 (opens in a new tab)
- Regular Council minutes, Mar 4, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Regular Council minutes, Apr 22, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Town of Qualicum Beach development tracker (opens in a new tab) Files 2023-DVP-06, 2024-DVP-25 and 2025-DVP-02, 3022 Island Highway West, checked September 20, 2026.
- PQB News: PQB benchmark home price near $927K, Sep 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab) Vancouver Island Real Estate Board benchmark prices for August 2026. We use the board-wide figures: $788,100 single-family, $550,000 townhouse, $401,900 apartment.
Last checked October 5, 2026. Report a mistake.