A proposal to build a fourplex on 48 Street, which the property owner suggested would increase population density in the town's uptowne area, was shot down by council at a meeting on May 12.Members of council were split 3-3 on an application to re-designate 5137 48 St. from a general residential district to medium residential, defeating the bylaw in its second reading.Councillors Mary Anne Overwater, Mary Jane Harper and Debbie Bennett voted against the bylaw. Coun. Harvey Walsh was absent for the vote.The 557-square-metre property would have been converted into a strictly residential building, with each unit sized at 46 square metres. Using the fourplex for affordable housing was suggested.The lack of commercial development was why councillors voted against the proposal.“Our Uptowne Area Redevelopment Plan states we would like to have more commercial on the ground floor and residential on the top floor and they don't have that,” said Overwater, who added that a residential-only building would defeat the purpose of the redevelopment plan.Furthermore, Overwater said making one exception to the vision within the plan would encourage other developers to seek the same treatment.“So we need to define how many times we're going to re-designate that bylaw by saying you guys can have all this as residential,” she said. “Then we're going to have another developer come forth and say, we're in conformity with what they did so we should be able to do it as well.”In the public consultation portion of the council meeting, resident Heather Baker, on behalf of the property owner, said increasing the population density in the area would increase foot traffic in the area and make use of an underdeveloped property.“I believe what the applicant is trying to encourage here is to put residential into the area – higher density residential so when (the) commercial builds up, there's that base of residents in the area,” said Kari Idland, the town's municipal planning intern.However, Overwater said Olds should be following what other municipalities are doing by promoting mixed-use development in the downtown area.“A lot of communities are doing that and it's revitalizing their downtown core by having more people down there, they walk around, the businesses are vibrant,” she said. “However, if we just continue to put residential there, we're not promoting the business sector.”[email protected]
