CANMORE – An appeal against employee housing on the edge of Spring Creek Mountain Village was tossed out by the Town of Canmore’s Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.
SDAB ruled in favour of the employee housing proceeding, which will bring 21 units of common amenity housing for 79 bedrooms and an additional three employee units. Castle Mountain Home Furnishings will occupy the main floor at the 500 Bow Valley Trail location.
The board found the variances approved by the Town acceptable and allowed in the land use bylaw, while the development would be consistent with the land use bylaw.
“The proposed development does not unduly interfere with or affect the use, enjoyment or value of neighbouring parcels of land and conforms to the use prescribed for that property in the land use bylaw,” according to the board decision.
“The appellant put forward no evidence to suggest that the proposed variance were unreasonable.”
The appeal was officially dismissed Jan. 17, with construction fencing quickly around the site by the morning of Jan. 18.
The appeal had been filed by Melissa Yarmoloy for 309061 Alberta Ltd. The numbered company owns property across from the development and the nearby Blondies Corner.
In the Jan. 5 hearing, concerns raised were centred on parking, landscaping, building height and the size of the units.
The project is a joint venture between Spring Creek Mountain Village’s (SCMV) owner Frank Kernick and Sabrina Derondeau and Jeff Bellinger of Castle Mountain Home Furnishings.
At the hearing, Kernick emphasized how he had worked with the Town to make the necessary bylaw changes that were approved by council in the summer for stage four of development in SCMV.
The employee housing is outside of SCMV’s area redevelopment plan (ARP) and in the Bow Valley Trail ARP. It would have 35 parking spots and 100 spots for bike parking. The building would be four storeys.
Common amenity housing was added to the Town’s land use bylaw in 2019 and is designed to give another option for employee housing for developers. The first such development was approved by the Town’s Municipal Planning Commission last April and held up to an SDAB appeal.
Kernick also stressed the need for employee housing in the community and that without it, employers lack the ability to properly function.
“Anyone in the hospitality industry in Canmore or Banff knows if you don’t have staff housing you will not get staff,” he said at the hearing.
The decision can be appealed in the Court of Appeal within 30 days.
