Photo by Whitehorse Star
Gordon Clark
Potential golf course development defended
A planned development for Meadow Lakes Golf Course will go back to city council next week, despite being voted down at a recent meeting.
A planned development for Meadow Lakes Golf Course will go back to city council next week, despite being voted down at a recent meeting.
Developer Jeff Luehmann wants to build high-end housing catering to the 50-plus crowd on a vacant parcel of land near holes seven and nine of the golf course.
The proposed development — called Hidden Haven — would have up to 22 units — four four-plexes and one six-plex.
However, the plans were met with opposition from residents of the nearby Fox Haven neighbourhood.
They were concerned about how the development would affect their privacy, septic and water systems, and traffic in the area, off the Alaska Highway opposite the Wolf Creek subdivision.
Some city councillors also expressed trepidation about the project, particularly the development's septic and water systems.
After some debate at their July 11 meeting, council members voted down the zoning bylaw that would allow Luehmann's project to go ahead.
At council's July 18 standing committee, the issue returned, however.
Gordon Clark, who is currently building a house at Fox Haven, spoke to council about the debate surrounding the development.
"My impression of the debate so far is that it has been one-sided,” Clark said.
He added he feels objections to the new development are not based on "factual concerns.”
He believes Fox Haven residents will not, in fact, lose privacy, and said comments calling the proposed development an "eyesore" are "unfair".
"I have every confidence that he has no intention of erecting anything that would be considered an eyesore,” Clark said.
He doesn't believe residents' concerns about dropping property values are valid either, as he is confident Hidden Haven would be a high-end development.
"I am not the slightest bit concerned about my investment," he said.
Clark was not the only person bringing Hidden Haven back up for discussion.
Coun. Dave Austin served council notice of a motion to reconsider.
Austin will be opening the issue back up for discussion at council's next regular meeting on July 25.
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Comments (3)
Up 0 Down 0
Jeff Luehmann on Jul 22, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Hey Griz maybe someday you'll get up the nerve to come out from behind your facade and tell the public who you really are??? FYI the work done to date was for soil test pitting and surveying to obtain pertinent data required for any responsible development, it's called risk for reward!
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DG on Jul 22, 2011 at 11:24 am
As I understand it, it is his land to do with as he pleases in terms of clearing he just cannot build housing there yet.
Also who is the second developer? the guy building a house within spitting distance of the lot in question? Get your facts straight and actually read the article rather than jump your guns.
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Clarke Griswald on Jul 21, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Nice to see another developer step in and defend this project. They have similar goals, they both develop land and want to make money, the one will do it through a transparent process the other likes to grab land for one thing then change it into something else and make a pile of dough. Enough I say, council has voted it down and that should be the end, right? I'd say in two years or less he will have his wish, as a matter of fact he was so confident that he was going to get approval that he has the land cleared already, now that is what I call cocky!