A project to provide purpose built rental accommodations and employee housing in Canmore is moving forward with approval of one of two development permits it needs to get into the ground.
The permit application also triggered a process by council to develop a comprehensive management plan for a wildlife corridor adjacent to the project.
In February, the Town of Canmore selected Northview Real Estate Investment Trust to purchase a lot of municipally owned land adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway and develop it as purpose built rental and employee housing.
The deal involved selling the property at 1451 Palliser Trail to the company for $2.73 million and the company developing rental apartment units (148 total units or 312 bedrooms), after Northview was the selected proponent in a competitive bid process.
Junior planner Nathan Grivell presented the first development permit to council for approval at its July 3 meeting, explaining that for now the only work being proposed is to service and grade the site, and complete the foundations.
“The rationale for the split (in permits) is the developer Northview wishes to begin and complete site servicing before winter otherwise construction may not commence before 2018,” Grivell said.
The first development permit, which was approved by council, sets out the footprint of the buildings, setbacks and site coverage, all of which comply with the direct control district. Grivell said landscaping and parking requirements would form part of the second permit.
The first development permit also triggers the need for an environmental impact study (EIS), as it is considered in the land use bylaw to be immediately adjacent to the lower Silvertip wildlife corridor. Because the development was split into two permits, Grivell said the EIS would also occur in two phases, along with the third party review.
Grivell said the plan would look at mortality risks, construction related hazards, mitigations to minimize effects of the development and displacement, which is a concern as elk use the property in winter often.
“During the second phase of this it will be addressed,” he said. “It will be a multi-jurisdictional long-term management plan prepared and maintained.”
Beyond the EIS, however, administration acknowledged the work needed to understand the corridor, issues related to wildlife movement is beyond what an EIS could accomplish. Council directed administration to develop a comprehensive management plan for the lower Silvertip wildlife corridor, including a detailed implementation plan.
While the single development creates the need to develop a management plan, Grivell said the responsibility of managing the corridor goes beyond this one development and includes other stakeholders like the Town of Canmore and the province.
General manager of municipal infrastructure, Michael Fark said that development in Silvertip also affects that specific wildlife corridor, however, Stonecreek Properties is no longer required to do an environmental impact study as it had one approved several years ago.
Fark said with a new development proposed adjacent to the corridor, the requirements to undertake an environmental analysis of the corridor kicks in, even if other developments affect the wildlife and the corridor.
“The intent here is to have the Town lead the discussion with the province and other jurisdictions and stakeholders.”
Fark told council administration could expect to see some of the recommendations from the management plan addressing things like fencing, education and ensuring that elk don’t move toward the highway as a result of the development.
“The concerns would be around first of all displacement of animal movement,” he said. “The point is to better understand the issue and look at what mitigations might be required.”
He noted that Northview has agreed to fund $100,000 in mitigations onsite to address wildlife issues, but what those will look like depends on the second development permit, its required EIS, the third party review and the management plan.
“Given the large amount of already approved development, it could be challenging to complete,” Fark said.
Coun. Ed Russell opposed the motion to develop a plan for the corridor, saying it was too fraught with ambiguities that he didn’t know where to start. The financial impact could be up to $100,000. according to the staff report. “Everyone is working at full capacity, but we might have to study, might have to fence it, we seem to be jumping out of the frying pan into the flames,” he said.
