The Municipal Planning Commission granted approval to S.Y. & S. Restaurant Ltd for a development permit to construct a restaurant at 5509 and 5513 46 Street in Olds. The decision was made at the commission's meeting on June 16.
Planning staff indicated that the proposed development plan did not meet the requirements for parking, but that the applicants were requesting a 17-space variance. Under the terms of the LUB, a 175-person restaurant and adjoining commercial space would need to have 45 parking spaces, but that only 28 are actually provided.
Jenny Yee, part owner of the business, said she thought that because most people would get special transportation to the site during special events, she didn't think the parking variance would pose much of a problem.
While some commissioners expressed concern about the lack of parking, the potential that overflow parking would go to the residential area to the south and the potential for noise to disturb residents to the south, Sean Carter, a development officer with the town, said a tree buffer that would be installed as part of the landscape plan should alleviate any noise concerns that nearby residents had.
“I think it's important to remember those folks that live to the south,” Wade Bearchell, chairman, said.
Nobody expressed any concerns about the potential for overflow parking going into the residential area prior to the application being heard.
The plan also indicated that a four per cent variance would be required for maximum parcel coverage area, meaning that 84 per cent of the parcel would be covered by the building, parking spaces and other non-landscaping features.
Yee said the plan is to develop the family-type restaurant immediately south of Highway 27, across the road from the eastern-most Tim Hortons. As for the parking concerns, Yee said the number of stalls that would be available should be adequate for the amount of business that happens at the restaurant.
“It's a casual dining (atmosphere),” she said.
Yee was initially given a development permit for the space on Feb. 18, 2010. Since the permit expired this past February without any work being done on the site, however, she had to reapply for a new permit.
