The owners of three parcels of land in the Peaks of Grassi neighbourhood of Canmore have submitted a new development proposal application to the municipality after a previous one was defeated by council.
The 1.62 hectares are owned directly and indirectly through companies owned by Lawrence Hill, Pierre Doyon and Dan Madlung, who are longtime residents of the neighbourhood.
The previous application to rezone the land from urban reserve and build 20 units was defeated earlier this year unanimously by council, which stated the community benefit did not justify the zoning change, as only two of those units were to be Perpetually Affordable Housing. It was an application that was strenuously opposed by residents of the neighbourhood as being inappropriate additional density with a petition with a petition submitted against the proposal.
In the new application for the rezoning, the applicants state the infill development being proposed would include five single family detached units, eight duplex units and 14 townhouse units – of which seven are proposed to be PAH.
Doyon said after considering council’s earlier decision, they decided to come back again with a new proposal that addresses how a development on that site would benefit the entire community.
“That is the exact reason we have a new proposal,” he said. “We want to address what we heard from council. They asked for more community benefit and that is what the application entails.”
CCHC reviewed the proposal at its August meeting and issued a letter of support for the PAH component of the development.
“Peaks Landing,” states the report, “will deliver significant community benefit through the provision of a variety of affordable housing types, including perpetually affordable housing, to meet varying socioeconomic and demographic needs in Canmore. Along with land zoned for modest duplexes and single-family homes, this application proposes a bareland condominium row townhouse project comprised of perpetually affordable housing mixed with market affordable housing. The proposed PAH homes are consistent with the Canmore Community Housing Corporation’s broader strategy to encourage the addition of quality, affordable housing throughout Canmore that integrates nicely into surrounding neighbourhoods in terms of types, sizes and physical compatibility.”
The application sets out that the proposed distribution of housing types and design is consistent with the existing homes in the neighbourhood.
Development planner Patrick Sorfleet said there is no date set yet for the application to go to council for first reading, as there is still information to come, but it will likely be up for consideration at the end of October.
“The piece that is not part of the application is the steep creek hazard assessment and we anticipate that report being done at the end of September and we need time to go over that report as well,” he said.
Go to canmore.ca and the planning department page to get more information about the application.
