Committee Meeting July 28th:
307 Park Rill Road: Mr. Walsh needs additional water for the 10 acres he is farming and wants the Town to consider providing irrigation from the existing irrigation system. Staff advised that since all the properties in that area are now on the Town’s twinned irrigation/potable water system thus freeing up irrigation water in that area. Based on available supply staff recommended he be allowed to connect.
The Water Councillors had concerns regarding previous applicants and a commitment made in the past that farms on the bench lands would receive first priority. They suggested that previous applicants should be contacted to see if would like to take advantage of the water now available.
Mr. Walsh confirmed that he has explored the option of drilling a well but the results were not satisfactory for his operation. The matter was put forward to the Regular Meeting.
6967 Meadows Drive: the owner has applied to rezone the property from Agricultural to Residential 2 which would maximize the possibility of selling the land for development of up to two single family homes. Apparently connecting to the sewer system could prove a stumbling block. This item was forwarded to Regular Council.
The Fairview/Gala Linear Park: Staff reported that they have received favorable comments on the proposed park presented at the July 14th meeting. The biggest concern is water run-off. According to staff, the project could get underway in the spring of 2015 subject to Council approval. The matter was referred to the Regular Meeting.
Transwest Helicopters: Transwest now employ 48 staff and are looking to Council for approval of their hangar addition. It was noted that once the hangar is built, that the machinery which has caused some concern to the residents on Airport Street will be gone once the structure is complete. Council noted that the Airport Committee supports the construction and will vote on this at the regular meeting.
Permissive Tax Exemptions: The Chief Financial Officer, David Svetlichny, advised Council that a recent application by the Portuguese Club for an exemption revealed that there are no specific criteria on file for classifying which organizations qualify for exemption. It appears that past decisions have been made relying on previous examples for guidance. Staff are requesting that Council give staff direction on what they consider as fair criteria so that all applications can be processed in a fair and equitable manner. A decision on the Portuguese Club application will be made at the regular meeting.
Promotional Video? Is a promotional video of Oliver worth the cost in relation to the value of advertising? New-comers who are looking to settle here need to know what a great place Oliver is. It appears a video would cost $1,000 per minute and that anything over 2 ½ minutes will likely results in loss of interest but creating a Town website link and possibly using ‘You Tube’ could get us great exposure. Council will discuss it during their annual Prioritization and Budgeting workshops.
Regular Council Meeting July 28th:
307 Park Rill Road: Based on earlier discussions in Committee, Council wants more information before making a decision on this application. Mr. Walsh stated earlier that he was not sure if he would plant again this year so Council decided that they wish staff to investigate who has applied in the past from the bench land area and take this into consideration before final approval. The thought was provided there is enough residual capacity in the irrigation system then it would be a financial benefit to approve those and Mr. Walsh’s applications. Staff will report back.
6967 Meadows Drive: Based on discussions at the afternoon committee meeting Council gave First and Second to the proposed Bylaw amendment which would see this property zoning changed from Agricultural to Residential 2. It was noted earlier that the property should have the same zoning as neighboring land and that Residential 2 enables an owner to build two homes on the existing lot. This decision is consistent with previous suggestions for this area made by the Agricultural Land Commission. The next step will be a Public Hearing.
7034 Tuc el Nuit Drive: 10 duplexes are proposed on this property situated between Tuc el Nuit Lake and Drive and adjacent to Pelican Place. Some long-time residents will remember this as the ‘Efford’ property. First and second readings have been given and a Public Hearing will be advertised for August 25th. The Staff report noted that the Province has advised that no archeological information is on record but in the event any evidence of archeological artifacts are discovered during any land alterations then the Heritage Conservation Act will apply and all work must stop. The province advised that the owners should be made aware of this possibility.
The owner of 627 Veterans Drive had a request to build a six foot fence turned down by Council based on line of sight concerns and visual impact.
The Fairview/Gala Linear Park was brought forward and approval given for staff to start design and tendering documents. Council reinforced the need to consider drainage so that adjacent properties are not compromised by water run-off.
The recent survey of Rockcliffe residents regarding traffic speed produced no conclusive results but 65% of the 71 respondents were not willing to pay for any speed control measures should the Town proceed. Council received and filed the survey.
Hike & Bike Trail South to Drop Structure 11: This will soon be part of the Town’s responsibility and work will start on paving and a ramp structure at DS 11 to give everyone access across the river. The province will have to approve the ramp design before that can be built.
The TELUS Application to erect power poles west of Leighton Crescent has been criticized by the Town. Residential land in Oliver is scarce and this is one of the few remaining pieces available for housing.
The August 11th Council meetings are cancelled; the next meeting will be August 25th.