BOWDEN — It's over. At least for now.
Bowden town council has passed a bylaw rezoning three lots along 19th Avenue — including the old Lions Community Hall, located 50 metres east of Highway 2A, southeast of the Bowden Hotel.
The lots, originally zoned low density residential (R1) are now zoned general residential (R2). The change allows for higher density development on the property, rather than just single-family residential homes.
Council passed the bylaw in a 5-2 vote during its Aug. 12 council meeting after conducting a public hearing on the matter, which attracted about 10 members of the public. Councillors Sandy Gamble and Carol Pion voted against the motion to approve the rezoning.
That follows a previous public hearing on the matter, held in July. That hearing was ruled invalid because first reading of the bylaw to get the process going was passed by the town's Municipal Planning Commission, rather than by council. That forced this second public hearing.
Okotoks developer Kyle McCowan had applied for the rezoning so he could renovate the hall to accommodate 26 suites plus construct two 450-square-foot cottages on the southeast part of the property. The development would also include 30 parking spaces.
It was stressed that this does not mean McCowan's proposed development will necessarily get the green light. All that council did was pass a bylaw rezoning the land so it could accommodate that development. Councillors and planners noted other developers could still come forward with their own proposals for the property.
The public hearing lasted about half an hour.
In a memo to council, development officer Julie Hardes noted the public was invited to send in written comments for and against the proposed rezoning. Nine letters had been received by the time the hearing was held.
Six were in support of the bylaw and three were opposed. However, Coun. Carol Pion noted that one letter was written on behalf of three residents, while the others were signed by one person each.
Hardes said in general, concerns raised were that the increased density of the project could increase crime and increase risk to public safety, there was insufficient space for parking, insufficient green space, no public transportation available for future residents, and the proposed development could hurt property values for surrounding homes.
McCowan spoke in favour of his proposed development.
He described it as "helpful and useful to the town," stating that adding more population and density would be good for the community.
"I guess, in the pioneer times, 100 people in the town was enough; it was plenty to have a full town with all the services you needed. And then in the '50s, that number was around 1,000. And what are we now? I don't know, maybe 4,000 is what we need to have a bank and a grocery store — maybe even a rec plex, a doctor's office as well," he said. "So I think this is a step to start moving in that direction."
McCowan said he walked along 19th Street and virtually every one of the residents he talked to enthusiastically supported the project.
He said in the third block out from the proposed project he quoted the attitude as being, "why are you asking me? Just hurry up and let's get started."
A 19th Avenue resident also expressed support for the project.
She works with a lot of foster kids and youth and is often looking for affordable places for them to live. She said it's too expensive for them to live in Olds.
"We see a lot of empty lots, we see empty buildings," she said. "We're sitting in a little bedroom society here and we really need to push for some growth and I don't see where there's going to be any issues.
"There's always going to be drugs somewhere, there's always going to be crime, there's always going to be something.
"I was excited to hear it because I thought, 'it's about time. We need something for people, for students, for residents (so) we can have another option, because we don't have the rental availability here.'"
Pion told Mountain View Publishing she voted against the bylaw because she would prefer to keep the area zoned R1 for single-family homes.
"I'm the first one to do economic development. I want to see our town grow and prosper. But I feel that that particular area, that particular lot, is not the right one for an R2 or an R3," Pion said.
She noted there's already an apartment building in the area and expressed concern that another multi-family development could be more disruptive for surrounding residents.
Jackie Richards is one of the people who attended the public hearing. She agrees with Pion's position.
"It needs to be based more for families than it is for an individual," Richards said.
"They're going to go on, they're going to be married, they're going to have kids, they're going to do whatever. They're not going to stay in one place as a single person for their adult life — not in a town like Bowden," she added.
"They'll move on to cities, they'll move on to colleges, they'll move on to wherever else. This is family; it's not a place where one person is going to continually stay. Families stay; not just individuals."
Gamble could not be reached for comment at press time.
