CARSTAIRS – After hearing a delegation from planner Sarah Neilsen regarding the Marygold Residential Development, Carstairs town council approved the first reading of an application for redesignation of 53-plus acres (21 hectares) of land located east of Highway 2A, north of Carstairs Golf Course.
A total of 18.11 hectares (ha) of the land is subject to the application. The remainder is not being redesignated.
“They're redesignating a portion of that land,” said CAO Carl McDonnell. “It was a business park previously. It's going to R1, which is single family development.”
The new owners of the property want to revert the land back to a single family detached development. The proposal is to redesignate the 17.01 ha currently designated DCBP (direct control business park) and the 1.10 ha currently designated Public Utility Lot, to residential single detached R1 district.
According to the background information presented to council, the proposed development is approximately 200 single detached lots with linear park space for paths and a large storm pond in the southeast corner of the development. The first phase of the development would begin with approximately 40 single detached lots.
“Now it gets circulated to neighbouring landowners and to various agencies,” said McDonnell. “Then there will be a public hearing. From there we'll have second and third reading of the bylaw. Then the land use would change at that point.”
In other news, it appears likely that the Town of Carstairs will have a new seniors' facility. Sam Smalldon, CAO for Mountain View Seniors' Housing (MVSH), gave a presentation to council at the regular meeting on Oct. 11 detailing plans the society has for the proposed new facility.
Currently, MVSH operates Chinook Winds Lodge, a 43-unit facility in Carstairs. The new facility would have 45 lodge units for assisted living, 12 life lease units for independent living, and 40 full-time (24-7) care units.
“They showed us what they're looking at and asked us to identify properties where it would fit,” said McDonnell. “It's in the infancy of getting a committee together to look at the project.”
MVHS said it is looking for three items from council to be able to proceed: for the town to encourage support from the community; to have an agreement in place with the town for grant funding request; and six acres of serviced land with consideration in waiving the development fee portion, not the builder's portion.
McDonnell said more seniors' housing is definitely needed in the area.
“When you look at the lodge and the manors here—the buildings are getting close to the end of their life cycles,” he said.
“The needs are much greater now than when they were built, some of them in the '70s and '80s. We definitely would need upgraded facilities and more room. The ones we have now can't hold the people that are looking for that type of housing in the local area. We definitely support it.”
