The Mountain View County municipal planning commission (MPC) has approved a development permit for an existing industrial storage and warehousing facility for equipment parking and sawdust storage just outside Sundre.
The move came during the commission’s recent regularly scheduled meeting in council chambers.
The property involved is located adjacent to the Sundre town boundary, directly southeast of Highway 760.
“The applicant is requesting consideration for industrial storage and warehousing for the purpose of storing equipment and a sawdust pile related to the business,” administration said in a briefing note to the committee.
“The request includes a relaxation to the setbacks on the easterly side of the property to the front yard.”
An industrial storage and warehousing business was previously approved in 2015 and currently operates on the subject property, members heard.
“The previous development permit issued in 2015 granted that all industrial storage and warehousing be located outside of a 45-metre setback to the west (front) property line.
“With submission of this application, the applicant is requesting a reduced setback to the westerly front yard and the additional sawdust setback storage to be located on the westerly portion of the lot as per the submitted plan.”
The approval came with a number of conditions, including the following:
- The subject property area shall be protected from any vehicle fluids and/or oilfield product contamination as per Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development standards and guidelines.
- All contaminated holding tanks, including gas and used oil, must have Petroleum Tank Management Association of Alberta approvals and their requirements must be adhered to at all times.
- All chemicals, oil and other hazardous materials shall be stored in an approved container system and be disposed of off-site, in a timely manner, by authorized personnel specializing in proper disposal methods.
- Future expansion, work area, additional uses and/or additional employees, will require a new permit.
The motion approving the development permit was approved unanimously.
Dwelling permit approved
Meanwhile, the commission has approved a development permit for a proposed dwelling project.
The move also came during the commission’s recent regularly scheduled meeting in council chambers.
The property is located three kilometres north of Highway 27 on Rge. Rd. 50 and Twp. Rd. 332.
“The applicant is requesting consideration for a dwelling, secondary detached on their full quarter section northeast of Sundre to accommodate their aging father and so he can assist them with their farm duties,” administration said in a briefing note to the commission.
“The applicant describes the dwelling as a cabin. Cabin is not a use within the agricultural district and as such will be considered a permanent secondary dwelling unit required to meet the provisions of the land use bylaw for that use.
“It should be noted that the proposed building will be larger than 800 square feet, which is the minimum required for a dwelling unit within the agricultural district, and will simply have wood cabin-like characteristics.”
Angela Aalbers, committee member and county councillor, put forward the motion to approve the permit. The motion passed 5-2.
Agri-tourism business
Meanwhile, the commission has approved a development permit for an Indigenous business in the Fallen Timber neighbourhood.
The approval also came during the commission’s recent regularly scheduled meeting in council chambers.
The approval is for business-agri-tourism, onsite-commercial business, and change of use from private riding arena to public riding arena.
The property involved is located approximately two kilometres north of Twp. Rd. 312 on the east side of Rge. Rd. 51 in Division 4 (NW 24-31-5-5).
The owners and applicants are Tracey Ann Marie Klettl and Tim Mearns.
“The applicant is requesting consideration for a business, agri-tourism (Painted Warriors) and business, contactors (Elk Ridge Archery Club) on the 82-acre parcel zoned agricultural district,” administration said in a briefing note to the commission.
The Painted Warriors portion of the proposal will include an educational portion and use the easterly portion of the undeveloped forested lands for grazing and native plant collection.
“The proposed business will allow the applicant to continue to utilize this area for agricultural use while educating students and public about the benefits of harvesting naturally occurring plants.”
The educational tours will operate year-round from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a maximum of 25 people, the commission heard.
In a note to the commission, the applicants said, in part, that, “The traditional uses of plants in Cree culture is something that is being lost. Our mandate is to preserve and share this knowledge. This is important to groups of people from all cultures and backgrounds.
“Our goal is to educate school groups, community groups and travellers both international and domestic, on our traditional and cultural uses of naturally occurring plants.”
Different uses of naturally occurring plants include traditional medicines, tools made from plants, and medicine from plants, they said.
“The program is based on traditional Cree knowledge that has been passed on to us from our grandmother.”
The Elk Ridge Archer Club portion of the proposal will see the existing archery club meet onsite once a week in the riding arena.
The application was circulated to adjacent landowners within a half a mile of the subject property and no comments or concerns were received.
The approved application came with a number of conditions, including the Elk Ridge Archery Club “shall not have more than one group visit per week with a maximum group size of 15 people,” and that the Painted Warriors portion “shall not have more than two group visits per month with a maximum group size of 25 people.”
