Apartment blocks denied in Ste Anne

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This article was published 17/08/2019 (1710 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Town of Ste Anne council sent a developer back to the drawing board on Tuesday, rejecting a pair of proposed apartment blocks across from the community’s hospital.

Developer Luke Wiebe sought a rezoning to allow the construction of two 22-unit apartment buildings and a 64-stall parking lot on three properties at 51, 61, and 65 St Gerard Street.

The buildings would house a mix of one and two-bedroom suites, each about 700 to 1,000 square feet in size, Wiebe said.

He told council he was also willing to explore the possibility of turning the apartments into seniors’ housing.

“We want to fill the needs that are here,” he explained.

Guy Levesque, owner of one of the proposed lots, spoke in favour of the plan, but six other area residents opposed it, voicing concerns about drainage, privacy, street parking, and additional demand on the town’s aquifer.

One resident wondered if additional traffic congestion could impede EMS vehicles rushing to and from the hospital.

Gillian Moore, a St Gerard Street resident, said the increasing density of developments within town limits was prompting her to move her young family to a more rural property.

“This town drew us in hard, but it’s not keeping us,” she said.

Council voted unanimously to deny the rezoning.

Councillor Tiana Bohemier said it was a case of the right plan in the wrong part of town.

She noted Ste Anne’s development plan strives to protect the character of existing neighbourhoods, and prioritizes the development of unused land first.

Mayor Richard Pelletier agreed, saying, “I don’t see a fit.”