Clearwater town council has given first and second reading to a rezoning application that would allow subdivision of property located north of the hospital into approximately 100 lots for a retirement oriented community.
The application will be taken to a public hearing to be held Tuesday evening, July 12 before it goes to third reading.
The property is presently zoned R-1 (residential single family and duplex). The owner has asked that it be re-zoned R-2 (compact residential).
The new zoning would allow for a smaller minimum lot size (400 versus 700 square metres) plus allow up to 45 per cent lot coverage.
Councillor Barry Banford noted that the draft plan for the subdivision does not include any hiking or biking trails.
Chief administrative officer Leslie Groulx said that could be addressed during the subdivision phase, if the re-zoning is approved.
Some concern had been expressed earlier that the cul-de-sac layout of some of the roads would result in increased snowplowing costs.
However, the subdivision would be a strata lot development, meaning the homeowners would collectively be responsible for maintaining the roads, not the municipality, Groulx said.
A traffic impact assessment found the two access points would be sufficient for the proposed development, and that the existing roads and highway intersection could accommodate the resulting traffic.
Because the Trans Mountain pipeline runs through the property, the developer would need to meet Kinder Morgan's requirements during the subdivision and construction phases.
District of Clearwater's engineer said the municipality's water and sewer system should have the capacity to handle the development.
Clearwater fire department noted that the strata road sizes and cul-de-sac dimensions must be big enough to handle emergency vehicles.
The smaller lot size and higher density are consistent with the belief that neighbourhoods should be compact to improve community health, commented Interior Health.