WESTLOCK – Owners of a long-shuttered downtown-area church who made an unsuccessful bid to convert it to a pizza parlour in the spring of 2021, are now looking to turn the site into an indoor playground for kids but will need the zoning changed with a scheduled debate slated for early July.
At the June 12 Town of Westlock council meeting, manager of planning and development Danielle Pougher told councillors that the municipality has received an application to amend the land-use bylaw to re-district the old Westlock Gospel Chapel property at 10148 – 104th Street (Lot 11, Block 25, Plan 7191ET) from R1, low-density residential, to a newly-proposed, R-NC residential neighbourhood commercial district designation.
Ultimately, as is the norm, there was no debate on the application and councillors voted 7-0 to set a public hearing for July 10.
Pougher’s briefing notes the applicant wants to redistrict the property to allow for development of an indoor playground while also allowing for the “possibility of other future retail use and housing options that would provide flexibility for redevelopment.” The briefing says that to make that possible, the land-use bylaw will have to be amended to include the new district, while a new usage class for an indoor playground, plus parking requirements for that class, also need to be added.
The new land-use district, R-NC residential neighbourhood commercial district, is intended to allow for a “mix of medium-density residential uses and low-intensity non-residential uses” and includes additional rules to ensure “future redevelopment is sensitive to the surrounding neighbourhood.”
Pougher went on to say that the additional regulations are intended to “reduce the impact of non-residential uses on the surrounding neighbourhood” and include enhanced architectural features, screening with solid fencing, a height differential of no more than one story and restricted parking.
Pougher also noted that the property falls within the mature neighbourhood policy area of the town’s municipal development plan and the proposed amendment “meets a number of objectives of that policy area.”
“Including the diversification of housing types, strategic in-fill and the adaptive re-use and re-investment in underutilized land. Neighbourhood commercial re-development is encouraged in this policy area,” she said.
The application
The land-use bylaw amendment application was made by Andre Depelteau of Rock Wood Steel Mfg. May 23, while Ron Cust was at the June 13 meeting and is acting as an agent for the property owner.
The application says that Depelteau is working with Moriah Hickey to open a ‘Rumble and Tumble Kids Playroom’ which is intended to provide a safe place for caregivers and children to meet and develop their social skills and keep them active and healthy year-round.
Hickey’s e-mail to Cust, included in the package, says they plan to use the upstairs as an open play space with sensory bins, play kitchens and similar toys, in addition to a ball pit and trampoline, plus a baby area. The basement will be used for birthday party rooms while Hickey’s e-mail notes there’s a possibility of collaborating with the daycare in the future.
The past pizza pitch
Following a public hearing at the May 10, 2021, town council meeting, then-councillors voted unanimously against Consolidated Land Use Bylaw 2015-02, Amendment Bylaw 2021-10, which would have rezoned the property from R1 low-density residential to commercial multi-purpose (CMP).
At the time, the property owners wanted to transform the old church into a pizza restaurant that would have provided take-out service, a seniors hot lunch/dinner menu and student hot-lunch program — for context, R.F. Staples School is located at one end of the block and the Pembina Lodge is half a block in the other direction.
A handful of residents spoke against the change, while written submissions were also received — no one spoke in favour.
All stated the restaurant would lead to more traffic congestion in the neighbourhood and pointed to other vacant commercial properties as better fits for a restaurant.
