CANMORE – Canmore’s newest downtown hotel – the Lamphouse – is set to expand its offerings with the development of a hot tub patio.
The development permit for the patio was in front of Town council in June, as one of the lots that make up the Lamphouse property is technically a direct control district in the Land Use Bylaw.
Basecamp Resorts president Sky Mitchell acknowledged recently that the development permit notice on display in the hotel’s Laundromat has caused concern in the community that service may be closed.
Mitchell said the company has no intention of moving the laundry service from Main Street until an alternate location can be found, which would include parking, washrooms and better amenities for users.
“I do not think Main Street is the best location for a Laundromat,” she said “We do not have enough parking to offer people who come with their vehicles, which is a lot of people.
“I want the community to know we are not going to shut it down, but we might move it to somewhere that would better service the needs of people.”
Basecamp purchased the property, the Bow Valley Motel, in 2017 and began renovations after a development permit was approved.
But in order to complete the outdoor hot tub, a second development permit was needed with approval from council. Planning intern Lindsay Allman presented the permit to council in June.
Allman explained that a direct control district was created for a possible hotel redevelopment, but that never occurred, making the direct control district’s regulations inapplicable to the site.
“This is a minor amenity addition,” Allman said.
The only change proposed to the application by administration, she said, was the inclusion of opaque or frosted glass finish around the hot tub to protect the privacy of guests.
