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TSMV lands transferred to Canmore Community Housing Corporation

CANMORE – Unused road allowances and required municipal reserve contributions from Three Sisters Mountain Village have left Canmore’s housing corporation with a new chunk of land to work with into the future.
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CANMORE – Unused road allowances and required municipal reserve contributions from Three Sisters Mountain Village have left Canmore’s housing corporation with a new chunk of land to work with into the future.

Two lots located in Stewart Creek phase three will be transferred to Canmore Community Housing Corporation, after council voted in favour of a motion to use the publicly owned lands for future housing.

The lands came to the municipality through the transfer of unused road allowances in the subdivision, as well as the required provision of municipal reserve lands from the developer, as per the Municipal Government Act.

“The intent all along was to transfer those [road closure] lands for community purposes,” said general manager of municipal infrastructure Michael Fark.

As for the municipal reserve lot, Fark reminded council that a prior motion had committed the Town of Canmore to sell a portion of it and replenish funds used from a reserve account to purchase another lot in the Peaks of Grassi neighbourhood.

The purchase of 990 Wilson Way in 2016 was a contentious issue for council at the time. The lot was intended to be municipal reserve, but an error at the land titles office resulted in it being registered as a residential lot that could be developed.

Council voted to purchase the lot back from a private citizen for $296,000, and elected officials supported a motion to sell land in Stewart Creek phase three to replace those funds spent.

However, the approved motion in June means council has opted out of selling a portion to replace the funds used to purchase that lot three years ago.

The two lots in Stewart Creek that will go to CCHC have a market value of $687,400 and $357,100. The Town of Canmore has paid for the $297,000 in servicing costs for them as well.

Fark told council that administration recommends keeping the two lots for future perpetually affordable housing developments. He said with affordability and housing as priorities for this council to address, putting more land into CCHC’s portfolio for future affordable housing initiatives would align with those goals.

“The position of administration is that it makes more sense to consolidate the two parcels together and allow a larger development to occur that would take advantage of both parcels combined,” Fark said.

“Building a land bank for CCHC, I think is a good idea,” said Deputy Mayor Jeff Hilstad said.

“It gives them the flexibility to get creative.”

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