Residents had a chance to have their voices heard about amendments to the Land Use Bylaw (LUB) in the future entertainment district during the Feb. 1 public hearing.
The area was placed under direct control by the previous council to ensure development aligned with the Municipal Development Plan (MDP).
LUB amendments were brought to council during the Jan. 18 meeting, where senior planner of community growth and infrastructure Jordan Furness presented changes to the land use district sites.
The amendments would make it easier for the city to approve development permits for a new business that aligns with the MDP.
“Development on these sites should provide for a variety of entertainment, restaurant, and retail uses to promote a pedestrian-friendly environment with linkages to Chestermere Lake and to strengthen the town centre as a destination point for the city,” Furness said.
Adding, “It gives applicants more certainty when considering uses for a site, and it would really activate the area downtown throughout the day and into the evenings.”
However, with the amendments, construction and leasing could take longer as administration works to meet council’s vision and ensure the right mix of developments are in the area.
Furness presented a list of permitted uses for the entertainment district including an arts and culture centre, convenience stores, drinking or gaming establishments, entertainment establishments, restaurants, retail, indoor or outdoor sporting activities, cafés, public market, specialty food stores, and more.
“The key additions to permitted uses include the arts and culture centre, entertainment establishments, gaming establishments, indoor and outdoor sporting activities, public market, specialty food store, and tourist information,” Furness said.
Administration is also reviewing if services, such as a medical clinic, or office space would be appropriate in the area, but not on the main floor of a building.
“They would bring more people to the area, and then they will hopefully use the active main floor uses,” Furness said.
Administration also identified discretionary uses for the site that include animal health care services, grocery stores, childcare facilities, financial institutions, household repair services, apartment buildings, places of worship, public utility, hotel, and government services.
With businesses under discretionary uses, there will be more scrutiny on developers to ensure the business are appropriate for the area and meet the city’s vision.
Furness presented another option for councillors, where animal health care services, childcare facilities, commercial schools, financial institutions, government services, household repair services, medical clinics, and offices are removed from both permitted and discretionary uses for the site.
Before the public hearing, the city received letters from concerned residents about gaming establishments in the area, some believed the entertainment establishment was too vague of a description, others wanted apartment buildings, government services, hotels, places of worship, and public utilities removed from the site use list, and one resident was concerned with accessibility issues for residents trying to get to a business not located on the main floor.
The city also received feedback from online advertising, with one resident wanting to make sure the city is making a solid decision about developing the area, as there is not an undo button.
After the public hearing, Co-Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and city director of growth and infrastructure Jeff Gibeau suggested that council pass the second reading of the bylaw as amended, and then bring a more detailed final draft of the amendments to the Feb. 15 council meeting for a third reading.
“For reading two this list is reflective of where things are right now, for reading three I’d like to see the individual complaints of how they were addressed in this list,” councillor Stephen Hanley said. “We want to make sure everyone’s voices and opinions matter.”
