The following is a portion of an email to Dave McDonough, Banff Field Unit Superintendent.
One of the reasons I am pleased Parks Canada has not OK’d the latest version of the Town of Banff Land Use Bylaw follows:
I am concerned new hotels can be built without being obligated to provide for housing of the additional staff required after the hotel is completed. During March 2014 and April 2014, I corresponded with Darren Enns, Town of Banff senior planner regarding construction of staff housing for staff hired to operate the Fox Hotel.
In an email dated March 21/14 Mr. Enns informed me that “Development Permit 05DP43 for the Fox Hotel indicates the Required Housing component (26 bedrooms) was met through residential construction at 425 Marten and on Park Avenue. Note that these bedrooms would have been constructed prior to development of the new commercial floor space (Fox Hotel) in conformance with Council Policy C012 (Housing).”
As regards staff housing required by the construction of Caribou Properties’ Fox Hotel – Mr. Enns emailed, on April 9/14, the following to me (I have copied the parts of that email that I consider to be of concern).
“The Building Permit for 425 Marten (03BP052) was issued in 2003...
The Building Permit for the Fox Hotel at 461 Banff Avenue (06BP35) was issued in 2006 …
Caribou properties met the required housing component through construction of new bedrooms in advance of commercial development, consistent with council policy C012 (housing). The current version of C012 states:
2.8 d) Housing may be “credited” against future commercial development for up to five years from issuance of a development permit for the housing provided it is:
–Designated against a specific commercial project identified on the development permit; and
–The proposed additional commercial space or future expansion is approved as part of the overall development permit for the commercial project.”
425 Marten Street was likely completed three years before the Fox Hotel was completed. It is highly likely that 425 Marten was 100 per cent occupied prior to the completion of the Fox Hotel.
The home of Gordon Lozeman, president of Caribou Properties, was, I believe, completed before the Fox Hotel was operational. A dwelling such as president Lozeman’s home is not what the average person would consider to be staff housing. In fairness, perhaps the high-end home in which Mr. Lozeman lives contains rental units that are fully occupied by people working within the Town of Banff.
In the case cited above, it is highly likely that both 425 Marten Street and his home were fully occupied months, maybe years, before the additional housing required for the then-future opening of the Fox would have been necessary. In which case one must ask, “where are the additional employees required to operate the newly opened hotel going to live given that the staff housing “designated against a specific commercial project ” has likely been 100 per cent occupied years before the “specific commercial project” was open for business?
I believe new required staff housing should be available to new staff after a new hotel or other expanding business is opened.
I believe Fuji Starlight Express is also exempt, for the same reason, from providing additional staff housing required for additional staff needed in order to operate the future hotel to be built on the site of the Homestead.
As a result of the “credit” loophole, Town officials allow the housing shortfall to worsen and expect taxpayers to foot the bill, in the form of a levy – an additional tax – to build housing that expanding businesses are allowed to wiggle out of providing.
I am thankful, now, that Sheila Copps capped commercial growth at 350,000 square feet in 1998.
Jon Whelan,
Banff
