A local lawyer recently outlined why council should approve an application to amend the land use bylaw to add the Valley Mobile Home Park as a permitted use in an industrial zone in a flood fringe.
Laura Skorodenski addressed council on behalf of her clients, Blair and Gloria Jensen, during its Dec. 14 meeting, which was attended by several dozen people who came to show their support for the park.
“They want to be able to do what the town told them they could do when they invested in the park — that is, they want to be able to replace homes in the park in a manner that is consistent with the requirements outlined by the town in 2004 and compliant with current safety code standards.”
Although the Jensens submitted an application for the park to be allowed as a permitted use in the industrial zone, they are not asking for a re-zoning, she said.
“When making the decision tonight, I'm asking you to consider a few things. First, there's heavy public support for this park to continue to operate as evidenced by the massive attendance here tonight.”
There was also a petition that garnered more than 800 signatures, which represents more than one third of Sundre's adult population, she said.
“The second is that council has the ability to make this happen. The Municipal Government Act permits council to change land use bylaws, and there's nothing in the town's bylaws that prohibits such an amendment.”
Third, the bylaws that were in place in 2004 have not changed in any manner that is relevant to this issue, she said.
“So why is there a change in the town's position in regard to this park?”
Fourth, while the park is located in a flood fringe, it has never actually flooded, she said.
“And it's had plenty of opportunity to — we've had massive floods in Alberta in recent years.”
There is also presently no legislation that prohibits building in a flood fringe, she said.
“To the best of my knowledge, there's nothing coming down the pipes that will prohibit any building in the fringe.”
The Jensens are aware that the safety code regulations must be complied with, and are willing to do so, she said.
“They want this park to be a safe place to live in the same way that everyone in the town wants it to be a safe place to live. The town needs, and wants, affordable housing — this park provides that.”
Another consideration is that residential use in that industrial zone will not be ending any time soon. So industrial use and the concerns for increasing industrial use in the area are still going to exist for some time to come, she said.
“Finally, the residents of the park contribute to the vitality and the economy of this town — they're an important part of this town.
“The bottom line is the town made a representation to the Jensens in 2004, and the Jensens relied on that when they purchased the park. Residents and businesses in Sundre need to be able to rely on written representations from the town when they're making a decision to purchase a business or invest in property in the town. By denying any sort of a reasonable resolution to the Jensens in this issue, you're telling people that the information and representations made by the town can be arbitrarily withdrawn.”
Administration recommended three motions — to refuse, defeat or table the application for the land use bylaw amendment.
“While our preference would be to see the amendment accepted as it is, we recognize that there is a critical drafting change required in the requested amendment and probably things that need to be tweaked as well. To that end, I would ask that council tables the matter for further drafting and legal opinion and that it be brought back to council for first reading.”
She also objected to the Jensens being directed to cover the costs for any further applications or legal opinions.
“This issue, again, is the result of a representation made by the town to my client. Whether that representation was a mistake on the town's behalf or not is not relevant. Had the town not made the representation it did, the Jensens would not have invested in the mobile home park.
“It seems grossly unfair that they would now be required to pay the town's legal fees or any further application fees to remedy the situation.”
