Council echoes previous decision on business activity at Birchy Hollow

By Craig Westcott

CBS council has rejected a request from a Foxtrap property owner to keep more livestock.

The property, at 500 Conception Bay Highway, fronts on Route 60 and runs as far back as the boundary with the T’Railway.

Councillor-at-Large Rex Hillier, who filled in for vacationing planning committee chairman Gerard Tilley at last week’s meeting, told council the proposed number and variety of livestock, when added to the existing number of animals at the hobby farm, could have a detrimental effect on neighbouring properties as well as the trail.

“This property already has a significant number of animals present, and we don’t feel it’s necessary to increase that number at this time,” Hillier said. 

In other planning committee news:

Council had to say no to an application to open an automotive oil change business at 963 Conception Bay Highway. That’s the site of the former Mandy’s Mini Mart in Kelligrews.

Hillier explained that type of business is not permitted in a Residential Medium Density zone, even as a discretionary use. But council will entertain a request from the proponent, subject to the payment of appropriate fees and deposits, to rezone the area to Commercial Main Street.

“We had a look at it and across the street from this particular property it’s zoned such that it would accommodate it (the oil change garage) as it is Commercial-1 zoning,” Hillier noted. “So really, by rezoning this property to Commercial-1 you’re really setting it up with the same zoning as immediately across the street from it.”

And, an application for a permit to operate a home-based plant nursery business at 19 Birchy Hollow was refused for the second time in two months.

Like the last time the application arose, the planning committee deemed the property cannot accommodate the minimum number of off street parking spaces required for the dwelling and businesses operating there, this time adding the “the proposed activity would have negative impacts on the neighbouring properties,” Hillier said, reading from the report.

Councillor-at-Large Joshua Barrett asked whether council should defer voting on the application as the proponent had scheduled a meeting with the planning committee.

However, planning committee member and Ward-1 councillor Shelly Moores pointed out this particular matter has been “sorted” as the nursery business no longer operates, and the meeting with the applicant is to discuss other issues. Those issues are likely connected to the owner’s previous application to also operate a hobby farm as well as a surveying business from an accessory building on the property. When council rejected those applications along with the nursery in August, it also ordered that all business activity at the property cease as no permits were in place.