A rezoning application for a lot in Whissellville was denied by Westlock town council at a public hearing at their most recent meeting on June 23.
The application for the lot located at 9832 109 St. was change its zoning from an R1 (low density residential) designation to an RMH-1 (manufactured home subdivision residential district) designation.
“There's lots of old dilapidated houses in the area that would look a lot nicer with anything else on them whether it's a manufactured home or a new home,” said Whissellville resident Dan Peters, who spoke in favour of the rezoning at the public hearing. “There's not a lot of new homes going up in here yet, so we take what we can get.”
The application was submitted by Barrhead resident Susan Peters, who proposed to move a manufactured (mobile) home on the lot which falls out of its current designation that currently allows for only single detached homes to be built.
“I’ve seen quite a few mobile homes on private lots just down the street so other people have done it in the past,” said Peters. “I think that might set a precedent for it so I would like to do the same thing.”
The primary reasons for the application being denied by council were concerns around the property looking out of place in the neighborhood and several written submissions from Whissellville residents against the rezoning.
“It is an older mature neighborhood. It was old when I was living there and there's a lot of homes that you'd like to see replaced,” said councillor and newly-appointed deputy mayor Randy Wold. “But what would be the incentive for somebody that decides to buy up if there's going to be infill of manufactured homes in between homes and around them? I would be more in favour of revitalizing that area. You either do it all as [single detached] homes, or you do it all as manufactured homes.”
This isn’t the first time Whissellville has had issues with rezoning. A public hearing back in 2015 drew over 30 people over a proposed rezoning of a lot on the corner of 98 Avenue and 111 Street from a residential to a light commercial designation. A residential property is currently being built on the lot today.
The application on June 23 was the first new zoning application presented to council following their amendments to their land use bylaw on June 9. The amended bylaw aims to enable a broader mix of housing types, improve affordability, reduce development barriers and make it easier to renew or redevelop older housing.
“When you say no to an application, you always get framed as the council that’s anti-development and I'm just conscious of how we move forward,” said Coun. Murtaza Jamaly. “Let's look at how we can make the most of it, whether that's other lots in the community that are suited for the kind of development that the applicant’s looking for, or other types of development that might be cost effective using some of the incentives we have to potentially bring down the cost.
"Regardless of the outcome of tonight, I think it's important that we’re trying to create success for everybody.”
