A public hearing will be held on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. in council chambers regarding a proposed group home on 42 Street.
Accredited Supports to the Community has put an offer on an existing home on 42 Street and intends to house six developmentally-disabled clients at the home, subject to meeting various provincial guidelines for caring for the clients and various requirements the town has for such residences.
Group homes aren't allowed under the current Land Use Bylaw in low-density residential neignbourhoods. As a result, town staff submitted a revision to the bylaw to include addiction treatment centres, custodial care facilities, emergency shelters, residential care facilties and temporary shelters within neighbourhoods that include single- and multi-family housing. The maximum occupancy, town staff suggested, should be nine people.
During first reading of the bylaw amendment at the Oct. 15 meeting of town council, Coun. Wade Bearchell said he had no problem with Accredited Supports to the Community operating a group home out of that location. However, he said the proposed amendment was too broad and shouldn't have included facilities such as addictions treatment facilities or emergency shelters in low-density neighbourhoods.
“I think the greater risk is ignoring these issues,” Werner Fisher, the town's manager of planning, replied.
Following the meeting, Bearchell said the broad definition of facilities included in the bylaw goes too far for residents in a low-density neighbourhood.
“I think group homes are fine, but when you add addictions services and emergency shelters, this is an R-1 subdivision and you have (potentially) dangerous situations there. The bylaw, as far as I'm concerned, is too ambiguous. It allows (the Municipal Planning Commission) and the council of the day far too much leeway in deciding what they can do in an R-1 subdivision,” he said.
Bearchell added that if an addictions treatment centre were added to a low-density residential neighbourhood, property values could potentially go down and neighbouring residents could be faced with dangerous situations.
“And I don't think that's right. I think the bylaw needs to be tightened up so the council doesn't have as much leeway to decide,” he said.
Linda Maxwell, executive director of ASC, said in an interview following the meeting that the site was chosen because it is already wheelchair accessible, which is important because the clients that will be living there have physical and intellectual disabilities. Because the home already contains many modifications, it will also be less expensive to renovate to meet the needs of the clients who will be living there, she said.
“We wanted to purchase a home that was easy to renovate for our needs and there are very few (existing) homes that meet those needs. It's very difficult to find a home that's a bungalow that is set up already for people who (have special needs) and is of a size to accommodate six people comfortably,” she said.
"We wanted to purchase a home that was easy to renovate for our needs and there are very few (existing) homes that meet those needs."Linda Maxwell, executive director, ASC
