Paradise approves personal care home

By Mark Squibb | Vol. 32 No. 49 (Feb. 20, 2020)

Council has approved a new personal care home on Topsail Road.

The application to construct the personal care home at 1907 Topsail Road, intended to house 100 residents, was approved during the Feb. 18 meeting. The area is on Topsail Hill, not far from the Meadow Creek Retirement Centre.

The application had previously come before council chambers during a Jan. 22 council meeting, when council voted to advertise the matter and approve it subject to no objections.

“We did get two respondents,” noted Alton Glenn, Director of Planning and Protective Services. “Those, as well as other considerations, were considered by the committee, and the committee makes the recommendation to council for approval in principal.”

Councillor Patrick Martin spoke to one of the resident’s concerns.

“One of the residents, reached out to me, and I just wanted to get the issue clarified,” noted Martin.

The concern was whether the developer would be carrying liability insurance, in case any damage was done to nearby property during construction (especially if blasting is called for), and, what would be the process of rectifying it if someone lost a water source for a well during the construction process.

Glenn noted the developers would likely contract out any blasting to another company, and that generally the blasting company would hold the liability insurance.

Mayor Dan Bobbett noted that should any issue arise, it would certainly be dealt with.

The motion to approve the application passed unanimously.

During the Jan. 22 meeting, Martin had asked if the units would be affordable for lower income earners. Bobbett said that it was early to speculate about rental prices, but that as far as he knew they were not low-income units.