Kimberley City Council has voted to deny a request for a zoning variance, after a Kimberley resident applied to subdivide the lot he owns on Alpenglow Crt.
The lot in question is owned by Craig Janzen, who has experience with construction and the subdivision of infill lots. His request was for a variance to allow for the subdivision of the existing infill lot into three separate lots, two of which would have been under the minimum lot size required within the R-2 (single and two-family) zone. Janzen’s request indicated that if the variance were to be approved, he planned to build three single-family homes, one on each lot.
Under the current R-2 zoning bylaw, Jansen still has options, including dividing the lot into two, instead of three, and building two single-family homes, or two-family/duplex units.
The City notified neighbours of the request, many of whom responded via letter with negative feedback. Some of the feedback included concerns about the increase in density, lot size, parking, snow removal, and more.
At a Regular Council Meeting on Monday, June 25, 2018, the request was discussed by Council, staff, neighbours and the proponent. Council ended up with a tie vote, resulting in the variance being denied.
Many of the residents who live on Alpen Glow stated that they are not against development, but that three homes “would be too many”, and would “increase the density” in the neighbourhood. There were also concerns for the potential impact on the Barenhaus restaurant, located across Norton Ave., and the Alpenglow Bed and Breakfast located directly across from the property in question.
Manager of Planning Services Troy Pollock says that it’s “very good to see feedback” from the neighbours, however he didn’t think the request would drastically change the density.
Mayor Don McCormick says it’s up to the land owner, in terms of what he will do with the lot. The Mayor added that there are over 200 infill lots in the City, on which they are encouraging people to build.
Councillor Darryl Oakley echoed McCormick’s statement, saying that he is a “fan of utilizing infill space” and hopes that the proponent would work with neighbours to make the houses aesthetically and architecturally pleasing.
“These aren’t old Kimberley homes, they would be brand new homes,” he said.
Councillor Albert Hoglund said that the “opposition [from neighbours] is strong enough” that he would vote against the variance request. He added that two lots would better meet the needs of the neighbourhood.
Councillors Bev Middlebrook and Kent Goodwin agreed that two lots would be “more cohesive” for the neighbourhood and “better meet their needs”.
McCormick said he would support the variance, considering the fact that if approved, it would give staff “time to work with the proponent” and get a better understanding for his building plans.
“Just about every one of the residential infills that we’ve had, that came through for a variance for whatever reason, have had opposition from the neighbourhood…” McCormick said. “The reason for the opposition is because of the unknown.”
He says the work really starts at the permitting stage, in terms of what is going to work and what won’t.
“Staff work with various proponents to come up with something that is in the best interest of everyone in the neighbourhood and the broader municipality,” he said.
