By Brian Lawrence
A Northwest Boulevard motel may soon be allowed to rent rooms by the month, after Creston town council passed two readings of a proposed bylaw amendment at its regular meeting on Dec. 11.
Developer David Derkatch applied for the rezoning, requiring it as a condition of purchasing the Mountain View Inn at 1441 Northwest Blvd., with the goal of creating affordable housing.
“It would definitely take up a … big hole in the market” said Derkatch, who had a similar rezoning request approved by Cranbrook city council on Monday.
Built in 1960, the motel is currently zoned for tourist commercial use, and long-term monthly rentals are not permitted.
“They’re allowed nightly, weekly at the outside,” said municipal services director Ross Beddoes.
The site is located outside the Official Community Plan’s residential growth containment area, but the fact that the units already exist and serve an important demographic earned the proposal the support of the Creston Valley Community Housing Society.
A public hearing — which could result in a third reading and approval — for the zoning amendment will be held at a special council meeting on Jan. 15, 2019.
Council Briefs
•Council passed the first and second readings of a zoning amendment to bylaw 1877, which will allow cannabis cultivation and research in the community. The proposed amendment includes, among other components, repealing the temporary prohibition on cannabis retail and cultivation, definitions of cannabis-related land uses and associated terms, 150-metre buffers around parks and schools, the addition of “cannabis operation” in the agriculture zone, and the addition of fencing and screening requirements.
When Coun. Jim Elford asked about the need for screened or blacked-out windows, citing the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) preference for clear windows, Beddoes explained that covered windows are required by the Interior Health Authority.
A public hearing for the amendment will be held Jan. 15, 2019.
•If the Creston Valley Regional Airport Society approves the Creston Valley Cruisers request to hold a drag race event on June 8, 2019, the town, which owns the property, will likely follow suit. The Cruisers had previously been approved to hold the event in September, but the airport became unavailable due to heavy aircraft use during forest fire season. The car club expects about 64 cars to race, with spectators numbering between 1,000 and 1,500.
•The Town of Creston will spend $150 from the mayor’s discretionary fund to sponsor the Creston Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Jan. 10 breakfast meeting at the Creston and District Community Complex. Mayor Ron Toyota will attend with Coun. Ellen Tzakis, council’s representative to the chamber, and also make a presentation.
•On the recommendation of interim town manager Michael Moore, council authorized the Regional District of Central Kootenay to submit an application for $25,000 from the UBCM Community Resiliency Investment Grant Program on behalf of the town. The funds would be used to continue participating in the regional FireSmart program, as the town did this year.
•Council approved an updated flag protocol policy, rescinding previous policies in the council policy manual. The town will now follow raise, lower, fly, maintain and dispose of flags in accordance with Canadian Heritage’s guidelines on Flag Etiquette in Canada and Rules for Flying the Flag.
•The Creston Lions Club will be granted an occupation licence to use the Millennium Park parking lot for its annual Christmas tree chipping event.
•A development permit application by Tom Boese on behalf of Arrow Mountain Car Wash and Mini Storage was approved. It will allow the construction of a new mini-storage building at 1236 Northwest Blvd.
•Council approved the disbursement of $2,100 in discretionary funds, the remainder of a $7,000 allotment for 2018 that will not carry over into 2019.
Toyota donated the final $850 of his discretionary fund to Creston’s branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. Council members used $800 from their fund to cover rental fees at the Creston and District Community Complex for the Creston Ministerial Association’s Christmas hamper program, and $450 would go to Juice FM’s Dec. 14 fundraiser for the Creston Valley Hospital.
•Beddoes reported that the town has received 48 responses to the Citizen Budget, an interactive budget simulator that allows residents to provide feedback on civic services as part of the town’s 2019 budget consultation. The five-minute survey can be filled out online or on iPads at Town Hall.
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