City council on Monday night reversed its objection to a proposed condo development at the Meadow Lake Golf Course.

Council voted down the proposal earlier this summer after area residents expressed concerns about the potential impact four high-end, multi-unit condominiums would have on the availability of well water and the capacity for more septic fields.

The initial objection was overturned last night. Four of the six council members approved a scaled-down version of the development proposed by golf course owner Jeff Luehmann.

The proposal initially called for the development of 22 condominium units on the 2.5-hectare site of the former parking lot area down the hill from the clubhouse, and along the former road leading into the golf course.

After council rejected the proposal, it agreed to a motion by Coun. Dave Austin to reconsider after Luehmann promised he could provide area residents with the necessary engineering and hydrology information to allay their fears.

Luehmann told council last night he's been able to do just that. He has even convinced one of the more vocal critics in the Fox Haven subdivision the development can proceed without a negative impact on the neighbourhood.

Professional engineering studies, he said, showed the 22-unit development would have had no impact, and with the proposal being reduced to 13 units, there's that much more room for comfort.

Luehmann explained one of the 13 units will be on its own well and septic system. The other 12 stand-alone condos built next to each other will be divided into three pods, with four units sharing one well and the same septic system.

Irrigation for the surface needs – lawns, gardens – surrounding the condos will not be provided by a well, but rather will come from the course's existing irrigation system or some other source, he said.

"Due to the concerns, it was important to show compromise, which I have done,” Luehmann told members of council.

In the four-to-two vote, with Coun. Doug Graham absent from last night's meeting, council gave third and final reading to the required zoning amendment.

Fox Haven resident Kelly Pollard said the proposal is still receiving solid resistance in the neighbourhood.

Each and every resident may not have been able to attend a meeting hosted by Luehmann and the city earlier this month because of other commitments, but there are still serious concerns among many, she said.

Pollard reminded council that area residents want to maintain the country residential setting and housing density they thought they were getting when they bought their lots off Luehmann in the first place.

Coun. Betty Irwin, who voted against the proposal along with Coun. Dave Stockdale, suggested it was ironic the majority of council was supporting the moratorium on further subdivision of country residential lots in the city but supporting Luehmann's proposal.

The same concerns about the increased pressure on the groundwater table and the capacity to handle more septic systems across the highway in the Whitehorse Copper subdivision across the highway from the course should also apply in Fox Haven, she said.

Irwin argued that heightening residential density anywhere impacts more than just water and sewer capacity. There is increased traffic to consider, she added, as well as the impact on roadways.

High-density residential developments, said Irwin, should not be allowed where there is no transit service, period.

Coun. Ranj Pillai suggested the proposal is not opening up a new line to affordable housing.

Rather, it's likely Luehmann's clientele will revolve around existing property owners who'll be flipping their homes in the $450,000 to $680,000 range to buy into the condo development, he said.

Pillai, however, said the golf course owner has come a long way in reducing the density from 22 to 13 units.

"I think you can walk away happy, and I think the neighbours can be happy,” he said.

Coun. Florence Roberts said the developer's proposal will have far less impact than what he could do under the existing commercial zoning without any need to come before council for an amendment – build a hotel.

Coun. Dave Stockdale, on the other hand, suggested this is not the type of housing development contemplated in the city council's ability to make zoning amendments to provide for house opportunities.

The city, Stockdale insisted, is looking to attract rental and affordable housing.

"This is a bad development, and should not be endorsed.”

By Chuck Tobin

Star Reporter