SUNDRE – The Town of Sundre's council has approved a textual change to the municipal development plan that factors in a policy framework for developments between commercial or industrial and residential zones.
A public hearing was held on May 26 before the regularly scheduled council meeting. Nobody attended either in person or by phone and no written concerns were submitted to express opposition to the amendment that had received first reading earlier that month prior to being publicly advertised.
The purpose of the proposed change was to amend the MDP to include a section that would address transitional areas between higher-intensity commercial or institutional uses and lower-intensity residential neighbourhoods intended to support a compatible mix of land uses such as medium-density housing, small-scale retail, offices and community services with the stated objective of reducing land use conflicts and enhancing walkability.
“Administration is proposing a textual amendment to the commercial development section in the MDP in response to a recent application for the land use redesignation that would allow for a higher-density residential development in a traditionally lower-density neighbourhood adjacent to commercial lands,” Benazir Thaha Valencia, director of community development, told council.
“It’s important to emphasize that this plan is conceptual in nature,” she said, adding the document serves as a general guide for land uses and is not intended to be prescriptive with proposed projects still needing to go through the development application process.
“It’s just the policy language that we’re changing,” she said, adding that factoring in a transitional area between residential and commercial or industrial developments will facilitate processing applications for higher-density projects.
Following the public hearing, council unanimously gave second and third readings during the regular meeting.
“I know it’s administrative, but I feel like we’re seeing the MDP come alive on the east side there,” said Coun. Jaime Marr, expressing excitement about the potential of further developing that part of town.
Coun. Owen Petersen said the absence of any expressed opposition from the community further bolstered his own enthusiasm about potential developments in that area as well.
