Amendments to Drumheller’s Land Use Bylaw may help breathe new life into the area around downtown Drumheller.
At the most recent meeting of Town Council, changes to the Land Use Bylaw were passed, including amending the requirements for properties in the downtown transitional zone, which includes housing surrounding downtown.
The changes are meant to encourage property owners to redevelop and renovate.
“Decreasing the lot size requirements creates the opportunity for development in that area, which is a positive step. We’ve talked about the redevelopment of downtown and this is part of that process. It’s easier for someone to redevelop,” said Mayor Terry Yemen.
Previously, the regulations left little flexibility for a neighbourhood built decades before the current regulations existed.
“The way the regulations read now are similar to a Residential 1 designation, which don’t fit that well with a mature neighbourhood. Part of its lot size. With the current regulations, there’s not much you can do with some of those lot sizes,” said Brad Wiebe, with Palliser Regional Municipal Services.
Under the current regulations, many property owners in the area would have to purchase a second lot to have enough space to redevelop.
Part of the problem was the strict 5 foot side yard setback required for houses. Many of the properties in the downtown transitional zone did not meet the requirement.
The amendment lowers that requirement to 4 feet, and could be lowered further on a case by case basis by the Municipal Planning Commission.
“Right now with the existing 5 foot set back, if you don’t have that, you’re pretty limited in what you can do,” said Wiebe. “This allows for higher site coverage, so we can work within the current framework of development in these mature neighbourhoods.”
In addition, the Land Use Bylaw amendments also make it easier for manufactured homes to receive insurance coverge.
“There are a number of manufactured homes all over Drumheller, which are nonconforming in their use. We looked at how we can work with them, so those existing in districts where they are not permitted, would be discretionary uses. The purpose for that would be so properties can more easily get insurance,” said Wiebe.
The goal for the amendments will be to spur redevelopment, renovation, and modernization downtown, but keep the same aesthetic.
“It’s a lot easier for someone to come in and develop now, because there were some properties that were not able to be developed under the previous regulations,” said Yemen. “Now, there is an opportunity.”
