MOOSE JAW — A landowner north of the West Park neighbourhood wants to build a residential lot in the area and has received permission to carve off a portion of the property for that purpose.
During its Feb. 10 regular meeting, city council unanimously approved a proposed subdivision application affecting two parts of parcel C in NW ¼ 7-17-26 W2M and NE ¼ 7-17-26 W2M, totalling 9.22 hectares (22.79 acres).
However, the landowner cannot propose any further developments until she creates and submits a site plan for review, while the city must register the deferment of municipal reserve land on the land title.
Once she has satisfied these conditions, the mayor and city clerk will issue a certificate of approval in agreement with The Planning and Development Act.
“This is good news for the city,” said Coun. Jamey Logan. “It’s just more land coming into the inventory, and hopefully in the … near future, maybe we’ll see lots develop there and more opportunity for citizens.”
Debbie Cowan with Mount Elgin Properties Ltd. submitted a land subdivision application to city hall in September, asking to split off a chunk of agricultural land to create a residential lot, according to a council report. The property is west of Emmanuel Lutheran Church on Ninth Avenue Northwest and north of Meier Drive in West Park.
There are no buildings on the land, Cowan has no immediate plans for further development, and she intends to sell the parcel after the subdivision is complete.
The municipality’s future land use map within the Official Community Plan bylaw designates this land for future residential use, while the zoning bylaw says most of the affected land is within the Urban Holding (UH) district, with the lot’s southern east-west strip within the parks district, the report said.
The UH district protects lands required for future urban development and provides for an orderly transition from ag uses to urban development, while residential uses in this district are considered discretionary and require approval from council, the document continued.
Additional planning applications, such as rezoning amendments and/or discretionary use approvals, will be required and will be contingent upon the proponent submitting a site plan for review. However, the report noted that city hall has not received any formal concept or development plans from developers for lands north of the West Park neighbourhood, nor does it have anything planned for that area.
Meanwhile, a city-owned water and sewer line runs north-south along Ninth Avenue Northwest, through West Park, and then east-west along Bedford Road and Paul Drive, the report said.
The city has registered an easement on the affected land titles to ensure access and protection for the lines, while future development designs will take servicing considerations into account, the document continued. Currently, a service agreement is not required since no developer has proposed any immediate developments.
There is no existing or proposed physical access to the proposed subdivision, although the extension and legal dedication of Bedford Road further west ensures that the subdivision meets the legal access requirements, the report said. Future development designs are also expected to include road configuration and design specifications.
The report added that city hall referred the proposed subdivision to all relevant utility companies for comment and did not receive any feedback on the project.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Feb. 24.
