Council shuts down proposal for 36-foot lots

Times Reporter

 

Prairie Merchant Corporation (PMC) representatives were at the Dec. 7 council meeting to request a site-specific amendment to the land use bylaw, allowing them to build homes at a minimum width of 36 feet. Kristi Buender, with PMC, said it will resolve potential turning conflicts and helps achieve the 8 to 10 units per acre density proposed by the Calgary metropolitan plan. She said the proposal will still have single-family use, but will be more flexible. 

PMC didn’t make an application to amend the bylaw in its entirety but Buender said that it is something they want to try in this site and see how it goes. 

She said PMC wants to ensure the results are there and if it is found to be successful and council is happy they may come back later to implement it in the entire project plan. Thirty-six foot wide lots could support a 22-foot wide house with a seven-foot side yard, or a 26-foot wide home on a 36-foot wide lot, with the required five-yard setback. 

“36 feet, we went from 50 to 46 to 39 and 36. I can show a picture that I have that I took in Burnaby, the lot width is 15 feet,” said Councillor Earl Best.

“Are we going there, are we headed that way, because I’m not I’ll tell you now. You said we want to work within the bylaw but we want to change it for us, that’s what you’re saying.”

Councillor Bob Sobol said he knows it is only four feet but he doesn’t feel the case has been made and is worried to go into a 36-foot lot and set the precedent for future development. 

“I think if we do move a 36 feet lot width it does set a precedence. There will be other developers coming forward to bring these site exceptions coming to us regularly, so I’m not comfortable with this,” said Councillor Pat Fule.

Councillor Dave Hamilton and Mayor Steve Grajczyk were the only two who seemed in favour of the proposal. 

“I’m in favour of dropping it down to 36 feet, simply because all the other communities, and if we want to compete in this world we’re going to have to compete with other communities,” said Grajczyk. 

“We had 20 new starts and that is an indication of why we only had 20 new starts, a part of it, I’m not blaming it all on that.”

Hamilton is excited about the possibility of having another senior housing facility and said he feels the smaller lots will make homes more affordable for people coming in, while adding to the community which is why the lands were annexed in the first place.

One of the additions to the bylaw was to section 120, which allowed extended medical treatment services and seniors housing to be listed as discretionary uses for a an R2 area located in the southwest corner of a portion of the northwest corner. 

Council approved the bylaw and gave it third reading, however the site-specific exception for the 36-foot lots was removed from the bylaw.

 

Pool temperatures too cool 

Carol Curry was at council on Dec. 7 to speak on behalf of the participants in the water aerobics classes at the pool and their concerns about the pool temperature 

“When the pool was emptied in the fall and then it was filled again after its cleaning process we all felt that the pool wasn’t as warm as it had been,” said Curry.

Curry said they expressed their concerns about the coolness of the pool and some of the facilities to the pool manager Natasha Barron. Members of the water aerobics class had hoped something could be worked out. Curry and the others did not feel their concerns had been addressed, and therefore opted to present them to council. 

“The average temperature that we’ve got is 28 degrees and we’ve also got some medical suggestions saying that the higher temperature you do go, especially for seniors, the more dangerous it is,” said Councillor Bob Sobol. 

Lloyd Schoepp, president of the Strathmore Silversharks swim team, spoke on behalf of the swim team and why they have a necessity for cooler water temperatures.  

Council accepted the comments made by Curry and the Schoepp and said they will try to set up a meeting for all parties involved to try to find a solution.

 

Citizen of the Month 

Dave Hamilton nominated Strathmore Motor Products owner Hal Lust as his choice for Citizen of the Month. Hamilton said Lust and his business support a number of different organizations in town and mentioned Lust’s efforts in regards to the highway realignment. 

 

Town wins four blooms 

Communities in Bloom member Robert Breitwieser presented council with the plaque stating the town is the recipient of four blooms this year. Breitwieser said the town had missed out on the top honour of five blooms by only a point and a half, and gave council suggestions things the town as a municipality could improve on in 2012. 

 

Family Day 

The 2011 Family Day celebrations were a success. Though they were held to celebrate Strathmore’s centennial, Councillor Bob Sobol has found a committee willing to organize activities fro the upcoming Family Day. 

 

Youth Council

Sobol has also put his name in to be the council representative with the Strathmore Youth Council.