CommunityCouncil

Talcville Road boarding house proposal gets a thumbs down

By Craig Westcott

CBS council found itself turning down two different applications last week for multi-unit housing on Talcville Road in Long Pond.
The first application was for a two unit, 13-bedroom building at 19 Talcville Road.

Planning committee chairman and Ward 3 councillor Gerard Tilley recommended council reject the application because the proposal constituted a boarding house, and boarding houses are prohibited in the Residential 2 land use zone.

Tilley noted that Unit 1 of the building was to have 10 bedrooms, while Unit 2 was to have two to three bedrooms, with most of the bedrooms having ensuites.

The application was for a 10-unit apartment building at 28-32 Talcville Road, however, turned out to be a deferment for now instead of a full rejection by council.

TiIley recommended council defer its decision so it can consider potential impacts on the neighbourhood, and the resolution of a related appeal, that if dismissed, could result in the construction of a new street access from the area to Route 60.

Council agreed to the deferment without anyone passing comment.

Another item deferred at last week’s meeting was an application to remove a house at 16 Flats Road off Cherry Lane in Manuels in order to build a new one. Councillor-at-large Rex Hillier explained the Town is still awaiting results of a geotechnical review of the stability of the riverbanks in that area following a rockslide several years ago.

“We are in the process of doing some drilling in that area and the results of that drilling has not come out yet, so we’re going to defer this application until such time as we are sure there are no concerns with building in that area,” he said.

Council did grant approval to an applicant to subdivide property at 1657-1659 Conception Bay Highway in Seal Cove into two residential building lots. The approval necessitated the granting of variances reducing the frontages of the lots by 1.5 metres each.

“We advertised this request, and we received one submission, (from someone) who was opposed,” Tilley noted. “Council feels we can mitigate that, so we are recommending approval of the subdivision of the property.”

Council has also given the go ahead for a personal art studio in an accessory building at 31 Villa Nova Road, Manuels. The approval is contingent on the applicant acquiring a municipal water and sewer permit and approvals from Service NL for any septic system that may be installed.

“We did publish notices, and we did receive one submission opposing (it), but again staff recommend approval of the application,” Tilley said.

The Town will conduct a public consultation on a proposal to amend its development regulations to allow for infill housing on Bairds Lane, Long Pond, which is not on the CBS water and sewer system. Tilley said the proposed units would be single family homes with their own water and sewer services.

Council rejected an application to operate a surveying company, plant nursery and hobby farm at 19 Birchy Hollow, Upper Gullies.
Tilley said the applicant wanted to operate the survey business from an accessory building on the property, and the property cannot accommodate the minimum off-street parking required for the dwelling and businesses.

“And further, be it so resolved that the Town initiate a non-compliance file regarding 19 Birchy Hollow with a goal to have any unpermitted development including, but not limited to, placement of fill, keeping of livestock, and operation of business cease and that the property be restored to ensure compliance with the Town’s regulations,” Tilley added by way of a motion.

“The recommendation is pretty self explanatory,” Tilley said. “There are quite a few things on the go with that particular property that are against our Town regulations.”

Councillor-at-large Joshua Barrett wanted to know “what’s the issue with the hobby farm,” before voting on the order.

“I believe the hobby farm was started without a permit, is that my understanding?” Tilley asked the Town’s director of planning Corrie Davis.
“That was certainly one thing, and we put public notices out to the community and the committee considered the 12 submissions that expressed some concerns with the ongoing activity, and the cumulative effect was that the committee recommended refusal of the application,” Davis said.

To which Mayor Darrin Bent added the “ongoing activity” was occurring without a permit in place. “So, to add to that would be a further non-compliance, I suspect,” he said. “If you’re not compliant to begin with, then you’ve got to come into compliance at some point before you can go further, I suppose. It makes perfect sense… We’ll see where it goes. Maybe they’ll be able to come back and do something in the future.”

Among other applications approved last week one for a shed for 12 Nextor Place, a fence at 1198 Conception Bay Highway, Upper Gullies, an above ground pool at 6 Spruce Hill Place in Topsail, and a fence at 2597 Topsail Road.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *