The development of affordable housing units in the Turner Valley area will continue as planned after an appeal by concerned residents was rejected.
The Town of Diamond Valley's approval of the development of three duplexes with secondary suites, three fourplexes and two rowhouses at 302 George St. SW was the subject of an appeal hearing on April 8.
The subdivision and development appeal board rejected the appeal and upheld the development permit with a written decision on April 23.
"Our planning team has done a really good job in working with the developer and working within our land use bylaw as it's currently written to generate a proposal, an application that was really well done," said Coun. Jonathan Gordon, who sits on the Town of Diamond Valley municipal planning commission.
He added the level of professionalism displayed by the Town's planning and development department was outstanding.
Glenn Costello, representative of the concerned residents, disagrees.
"If I could say it in a polite way, the Town of Diamond Valley actually ended up with egg on their face," said Costello. "The drawings that were submitted were inaccurate. Some of them weren't even for this project, so it went very poorly on the Town's part."
Costello clarified that his concern with the development is not with the affordable housing units themselves.
"The appeal was definitely not against having these buildings put in this area," he said. "We welcome affordable housing, and we spoke to that at the appeal.
"What we are appealing is the high density and the lack of parking provided for the project."
According to Costello, an influx of new homes, vehicles and residents may prove problematic for the community of Everwood Estates where there are approximately 80 homes.
"What they are proposing is an additional 56 dwelling units. So whether they be secondary suites or apartments, they would be 56 additional dwelling units, which would then be 56 additional families."
Gordon said the development will benefit the town's economy.
"I've talked with our leading businesses in the community, and these types of diverse housing options are something they need to attract workers who might be living out of town," he said. "And I've talked with these leading business developers and these business owners, and they were excited to hear of this development being proposed."
He added that more housing is needed to accommodate growing interest in Diamond Valley.
"We are at a time in Diamond Valley where people are looking to move to our community and we basically have zero inventory," said Gordon.
"If you look at the work done by Westwinds when they did the study report about different housing needs in the community... I believe developers are starting to realize that there is interest here and it's time to move forward."
Gordon additionally clarified that the development is not part of the federal government's housing strategy.
"I think there was a misunderstanding there that this somehow was going to be subsidized where the developer was getting grants to do the building, and there's nothing like that involved in this."
The clarification was provided in response to concerns shared by appellant Barb Savage.
While the appeal has been denied, Costello said he will continue looking at options. He added that some residents are interested in appealing the decision through the legal system.
More information on the development permit, appeal and decision of the Town is available on its website.
