Canmore’s elected officials have chosen to offer to purchase a lot on Wilson Way for $295,000 in order to prevent it from being developed and correct a mistaken rezoning on the lot that dates back to 1997.
Canmore council voted 5-2 on Wednesday night (May 25) to purchase 990 Wilson Way for $295,000 and use a reserve fund to execute the sale. The reserve fund is one that contains funds developers have provided as cash-in lieu of municipal reserve land at subdivision. It was a funding source council, other than Councillors Joanna McCallum and Esmé Comfort, supported using as the lot being bought is supposed to be municipal reserve anyway.
“I think this solution resolves a situation that was created in error and allows the lot to be designated as originally intended through a council decision,” said Mayor John Borrowman. “As well, with the future sale of a lot in Stewart Creek phase three to offset the cost from the (reserve account), there will be no net financial cost to the Town of Canmore.”
Comfort said she does not believe the community as a whole is served by paying almost $300,000.
“It is possible to compound an error,” Comfort said. “And I think that is what we would be doing here. It is unfortunate the mistake happened and I am sympathetic to the adjacent landowner who has had his life turned upside down by this situation.”
McCallum also expressed sympathy for the neighbouring property owner, who has lobbied council to buy back the lot and keep it as undeveloped municipal reserve.
“I have struggled with this so long and so hard,” she said. “I have sat on both sides, heard from many people in that neighbourhood and from many across town. But at the end of the day, I feel as though I need to make a decision about what is best for the entire community and I do not feel spending $295,000 is appropriate.”
Ensuring money was returned to the reserve used to buy the lot was important for Borrowman and others who supported the motion, as the account was a source of funding for several future projects like the renovation of the rec centre in the five-year capital plan.
Coun. Sean Krausert followed up the motion to purchase and use a dedicated reserve fund to direct administration to begin a process of subdividing and selling municipal reserve land in a future undeveloped neighbourhood of Three Sisters and bring the reserve back up to its balance of over $693,000.
“An error was made and I strongly believe the land should not be developed unless approved by council through a proper process,” Krausert said. “That did not happen in this case and we have to rectify it.”
He said it is unfortunate that fixing the mistake is both costly and time consuming.
The idea to remove municipal reserve from Stewart Creek in phase three of that development, which has not yet undergone subdivision, rezone it and sell it was an alternative offered by administration.
While it was an option suggested as an alternative to council, Michael Fark, general manager of municipal infrastructure, said none were easy choices given the situation.
“I would like to recognize there are no easy options,” he said. “They are all difficult. There are errors on this lot historically and any scenario has a cost to move forward.”
Fark said administration’s recommendation was to leave the lot as is and not purchase it, although acknowledging the failure on the part of the municipality to fix the mistake made at land titles in the late ’90s when the neighbourhood underwent subdivision originally.
The lot was supposed to be municipal reserve, just like several lots adjacent to it on Kamenka Green, which connect Wilson way to Lawrence Grassi Ridge. It was mistakenly registered on title as residential.
It was not a fact lost on council at the time and in 2007 that council actually directed administration to fix the mistake. Unfortunately, ownership of Three Sisters Mountain Village went into receivership in 2009 before that could happen.
TSMV had new ownership in June 2013, and at that point it began looking at selling several properties it owned in prior subdivisions. That includes lots along Lawrence Grassi Ridge, also in the Peaks neighbourhood, to local developers who have since sought to rezone the land from urban reserve to residential.
Fark acknowledged that informal discussions about 990 Wilson Way occurred between the municipality and the developer, but said no formal offer to purchase was made.
As a result of little interest from the Town of Canmore, TSMV sold the lot for what has been confirmed as a sale price of $50,000 to a private individual.
The new owner subsequently submitted an application for a development permit to build a house on the property, which caught many neighbours by surprise as they were under the impression the lot was municipal reserve.
It won’t be the last time council has to consider the issue, as both the subdivision process for the land in Stewart Creek phase three and selling municipal reserve land requires three motions of council and a public hearing.
