City council passed a second reading of an amendment to a community plan that will open up the process to a public hearing for a proposed housing development on Innes Ave.
City council passed the second reading of a tweak to the neighbourhood’s Official Community Plan to allow for medium density residential, while also passing first reading of a zoning amendment.
The housing proposal, at full buildout, features 292 dwelling units in four apartment buildings and ten fourplexes on a 10-acre property on the west side of Cranbrook. Each apartment will have 63 dwelling units, while the fourplexes will add another 40 dwelling units.
The process now moves to a public hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. on Jan. 27th at City Hall, where residents can bring forward any concerns directly to council.
A few councillors suggested questioning staff during Monday night’s council meeting in order to get a head start on addressing resident concerns given that there was a full public gallery.
However, that was deferred to the public hearing, which will occur right before the next council meeting, to allow staff time to fully research some issues raised, such as sidewalks, traffic safety and drainage, among others.
“This is just one part of the process,” said Councillor Wayne Price, addressing the packed gallery. “As the process goes forward, council wants those assurances as well. The very things you’re asking, council wants those same assurances.
“…I would urge you, any questions you have between now and the public meeting, get them down, get them sent in, give staff the time to research. Our engineering staff is on top of this. A number have spoken with the engineering staff already about some of these concerns. They’re on top of this stuff, they have the same concerns and they want the same assurances you do.”
Mayor Lee Pratt agreed.
“I can assure residents that this is the first step,” he said. “When a developer comes to town and wants to do a development, there are a lot of hoops that he has to jump through. All the stuff like the sidewalks, the storm drain, the water, the sewer, has to be met and it’s a long process to get into that.”
trevor.crawley@cranbrooktownsman.com
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