An application to amend the official community plan and zoning for a piece of land at the right-angle corner of Park Drive took another step ahead during last Tuesday’s town council meeting.
Clearwater councilors gave second and third reading to the changes, which are intended to allow the property eventually to be subdivided into three lots.
The property presently has three zoning designations, TNRD planner Alexander Krause told council. Part is R-1 (residential single and two-family), part is R-3 (residential multi-family) and part is RL-1 (rural).
There is an existing single family dwelling on the R-1 portion.
The amendments would see the RL-1 zoning for part of the property changed to R-1 and the official community plan for the whole parcel changed from a mix of urban residential and rural resource to all urban residential.
Krause noted that a portion of the property to be rezoned is affected by significant slope. As a condition of subdivision, the parcel affected might be required to have a restrictive covenant registered against the title to address the potential geotechnical hazard.
Melva Randall, owner of a nearby property, wrote a letter questioning the rezoning.
Her questions included concerns about too many trees being removed from the steep slope.
Krause said it would be difficult to prevent tree removal from private property. However, possibly the restrictive covenant that likely would be placed on the property during subdivision could include restrictions on vegetation removal.
Because the subject property is within 800 m of a controlled access highway (Highway 5), the zoning amendment bylaw will require approval by Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure before final adoption.
