The property owner of 581 Main Ave. W in Sundre is one step closer to building at least nine seniors' homes on their property.
In order to build the homes on the property, owner Diane Farquar had to apply for an amendment to the town's Land Use Bylaw, which changes the zoning of the property.
Council passed second and third readings of the amendment during the council meeting on Aug. 6.
Only one member of the public, Gerald Moore, spoke to council during the public hearing for the amendment that evening. He said he was in favour of the development.
Council passed first reading of the amendment during the July 15 meeting, which allowed for members of the public to provide feedback before second and third readings.
“It's a Land Use Bylaw amendment to change the property from low density residential, which only allows single family homes, to general residential, which will allow townhomes or triplexes to be built on the site,” said Erin O'Neill, the town's manager of planning and development.
“They want to build seniors' homes, so they'd like to build at least nine seniors' homes. So bungalow style, ground floor, no basements and it would be three sets of three units at least,” she said.
The application was circulated to all of the town's internal and external stakeholders, as well as all property owners within 120 metres of the site.
She received comments from Alberta Transportation, ATCO Pipelines and the Energy Resources Conservation Board, with no concerns regarding the development.
The town's operations department provided comments indicating that the existing services on 4th Avenue SW will require upgrading at the time of development. Members of the department prefer that the access road not be dedicated to the town and that the developer remain responsible for it.
Town officials also consulted with engineers, who said the current gas main running through the property will need to be moved. A turnaround will be required at the north end of the property, as there will be no highway access.
The engineers also recommended that an environmental site assessment be completed at the development permit stage. All other engineering concerns, including sediment and erosion control, stormwater management and geotechnical studies will be addressed at that time as well.
A response received from an adjacent landowner indicated that they are for the development and believe Sundre is in need of such a development. However, they said they would like to review the development permit plans.
A response was received from another adjacent landowner, who said they oppose the development and have in the past for various reasons, mainly environmental concerns. However, the landowner did not wish to file a formal complaint.
