Canmore’s mayor is calling it one of the most complicated land use dilemmas the town has faced in a decade, and it will all come to a head next Tuesday.
That’s when a public hearing will be held on what to do with a four acre chunk of forested urban reserve land. The land hugs the peaks of Grassi neighbourhood in southwest Canmore.
Homeowners were assured by realtors, the town, and neighbour Lawrence Hill, who is one of the original developers in Peaks of Grassi, that the land would stay undeveloped.
Now Hill is applying, along with two Peaks of Grassi homeowners, to rezone the land so they can build 20-25 more homes on it.
Steve Hrudey is with the Peaks of Grassi Residents Group.
“We came here because of what was here and what we were assured about. We didn’t come here to live in downtown Vancouver.”
Jessica Karpat is with Quantum Place Developments which acts on behalf of the developers. She says the neighbourhood isn’t losing greenspace, it’s actually gaining it.
“The lands are private property, it’s not actually parkspace. The application proposes 54% dedication to make sure that’s formalized as parkspace.”
The land was designated urban reserve in the late 90s which means it wasn’t immune to future development.
However homeowners felt safe because a settlement agreement in place prohibited further construction.
That agreement turned out not to be legally binding.
Canmore Mayor John Borrowman says it needs more affordable housing for permanent residents who have been squeezed out by high prices.
“We have to contrast that with the need to protect the environment and also the need to protect community values.”
The land owners bought the parcel from the developers of Three Sisters Mountain Village.
Quantum Place Developers represents both the buyers and seller and is managing both projects.
A public hearing on the rezoning will be held Tuesday at 5:00 at the Canmore Civic Centre.
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