Engineers will perform a geotechnical analysis and create a grading plan for an area being considered for a new residential subdivision in the Napoleon Lake area.
The town intends to develop the land for single-family residential properties with lots over 50 feet wide but during the process discovered that part of the area had been previously excavated. The east portion of the site had been used as a borrow pit during the development of the Madison Park area.
Town officials had previously outlined four layout options for the area's development that included between 35 and 42 residential lots. But the geotechnical analysis and grading plan will help administration determine whether or not to develop the excavated site due to the cost to import fill.
It could affect about 50 per cent of the proposed development area, director of planning and development Craig Teal said.
“It certainly is a large unknown. We are recommending that we do some more detailed engineering around before we can finalize the subdivision design and finalize the budget for the overall project,” he said.
The geotechnical analysis will include drilling where there may have been clay borrow and drilling across the site to indentify the groundwater table, the depth at which the ground becomes saturated with water. From that, it will be determined how much ground fill is needed to keep basements outside of the groundwater table and so that they have enough support for road structures and deep utility installations.
Town council approved a budget adjustment of $36,000 for the engineering work at its regular meeting on April 22. The work will be funded out of land acquisition/servicing reserves.
Town council also carried first reading of three bylaw amendments that will directly affect the proposed new subdivision.
The first amendment would change the land use designation in the area located directly west of the Madison Park area. It would remove the public/future school site and open space/municipal/environmental reserves uses and designate the area as residential.
The second amendment would change Napoleon Lake Area Structure Plan to remove residential uses within Centennial Park and along the north side of 50th Street, replace the reserved-for-future-development area around Upland Aspen with patterns consistent in the Upland Aspen Outline Plan, remove the street connecting 50th Street to 55th Avenue Crescent, update conceptual trail alignments, and identify the highway commercial area southeast of the cemetery.
The third bylaw amendment would designate the area being considered for development for a combination of uses including residential single family (R-1A), residential single family (R-1B) and public.
Town council will hold a public hearing on the bylaw amendments in council chambers at 7 p.m. on May 27 before considering second and final readings.
