Tuesday's city council meeting at the Esplanade. (CHAT News photo).

By Alex McCuaig

Land-use bylaw passes

New city development plan receives first reading, new land-use bylaw passes

Sep 8, 2020 | 10:16 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It’s an aspiration plan to manage development priorities in the city for the next 30 years.

On Tuesday night, Medicine Hat councillors passed first reading municipal development plan that hopes to see a growing city with a downtown waterfront development, suburban and industrial development with higher density in the city’s core.

The myMH plan replaces the city’s 2012 municipal development plan taking into account the changes which have taken place in Medicine Hat and Alberta over the past years.

Mayor Ted Clugston says the plan has garnered interest from many Hatters, particularly due to the planned waterfront development stretching from city hall to the Arena.

“I’m having people who would never ever even open the document or even flip through it say, ‘hey, I decided to read that and (the waterfront development) is what I like,’” said Clugston.

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The municipal development plan envisions a boardwalk-style promenade complete with business and residential development.

The plan received first reading and passed unanimously.

It’s expected to be back before council in the fall after meeting its public advertisement requirement.

It wasn’t clear sailing, however, for the new land-use bylaw which will see, among other things, provisions which will allow for infill housing in established neighbourhoods and regulations regarding use of shipping containers.

In a public hearing on the bylaw, resident Rod Aman raised concerns about the changes which will allow for infill homes to be allowed on 25-foot wide lots.

While councillors were shown images of such homes, Aman said in Medicine Hat, such residences are, “utopian but not reality.”

He urged councillors to go slow in encouraging increased density in established neighbourhoods.

He also took issue with allowing non-compliant homes to have additions which while compliant, don’t address the core issue of the variances in the buildings themselves.

That issue sparked councillors Robert Dumanowski and Julie Friesen to question the wisdom of the bylaw without further clarification, eventually seeing the pair vote against the ultimately successful third reading of the bylaw.

The land-use bylaw also deals with the issue of approvals for use of shipping containers, including on residential property, requiring city approval of permanent installation of them.

A rezoning application which will see a trio of Ranchlands Boulevard lots move from low-density to medium-density was passed unanimously.

The rezoning was to specifically to accommodate a development of a two-storey duplex housing on each lot with a developed basement for an additional suite, .

Four nearby residents opposed the rezoning in written submissions due to already high traffic and low parking availability in the neighbourhood.

The development will include parking in the rear of the building.