Council has approved an outline plan for a new development in Lacombe.
At its meeting earlier this week, Lacombe City council voted in favour of adopting the outline plan for the proposed Rosemont Estates and Bowett Ridge neighbourhoods to be developed north of the Lakes.
City Planner Jennifer Kirchner said the development will feature lower densities than other developments in Lacombe due to the environmental and topographical restrictions in the area. Kirchner added the plan does not comply with the City’s requirements for housing mix, which require 20-40% of the units be multifamily. When administration advocated for a change in the housing mix however, the developer, Shantro Developments, indicated they only wished to provide single-family housing.
Yet, the plan goes above and beyond the requirements for municipal reserves. At 11.2%, the outline plan exceeds the 10% requirement as outlined in the Municipal Government Act (MGA). A total of 34% of the development would remain in reserve between environmental and municipal reserves, making this new development much “greener” than most developments, said Kirchner.
During the process of the developing the outline plan, the developer held two open houses that were well attended by the public and residents of both Lacombe and Lacombe County voiced several concerns relating to environmental preservation, water levels of the surrounding lakes, traffi c impacts and access to the land being developed. While City council voted to approve the outline plan, several councillors expressed their own concerns before doing so and wanted to ensure that the public would have an opportunity to voice their opinions directly to all of council before the fi nal development was approved.
“Not everybody has had an opportunity to hear from the residents and the concerned citizens,” said Councillor Wayne Armishaw. “So these folks are going to have an opportunity to come before council, is that correct?”
Kirchner said there would be no further open houses hosted by the developer as that was only part of the outline plane process. However, residents will have a chance to share their concerns at the public hearing once the project enters the rezoning phase.