CBS council makes sure business’s neighbour won’t see the light
By Craig Westcott
It wasn’t quite a fait d’accompli. Call it a half one.
Council has deemed that the owner of a property at 71 Greenslades Road in Long Pond can leave his lighted sign up, but he cannot light it.
Councillor-at-large Rex Hillier, who was filling in for planning committee chairman Gerard Tilley, made the motion earlier this month to let the wall sign stand.
“In this case the sign was put in place without a permit, and now we’re trying to bring it in compliance,” Hillier explained. “The sign that was put there is one that’s designed to be illuminated, but if it were to stay in that location it would be illuminated (facing) at a residential property next door and that goes against our regulations. So basically, what we’re saying is, yes, leave the sign where it is, if you wish, but it is not to be illuminated.”
The motion passed unanimously.
In other development news:
The owner of 13 Lockes Road, off Anchorage Road in Long Pond, has been given approval to open a hair salon and barber shop as a home-based business.
The approval is subject to the owner clearing space for additional off-street parking to accommodate the business’s customers.
An application for a variance to allow a developer to build single family homes on lots 15 and 17 Maple Oak Path in Kelligrews was approved. The variance will allow the developer to reduce the minimum lot frontage from 15 metres to approximately 13.7 metres for each lot. Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse declared a conflict of interest on the matter and did not participate in the discussion or vote.
An application to build a 44.6m2 garage at the residential property located at 1168 Conception Bay Highway in Upper Gullies was rejected. Councillor Hillier said the addition of the garage with the cumulative lot coverage of the other accessory buildings there would exceed the lot coverage of the house itself.
“It is a fairly large lot and because of the size of the lot those are the regulations we go by – the cumulative size of the accessory buildings are not to be larger than the dwelling or home,” Hillier said. “And that would not have been the case if this garage were to be built.”
Council also rejected an application for a 29.7m2 accessory building at 6-8 Dove Place near Worsley Park. Hillier said the building would be too close to the neighbouring property line.
“But there is room on the lot to put the accessory building elsewhere so our staff are gone back to work with the resident,” Hillier added.
The large subdivision proposed for the vacant area behind the Society of United Fishermen Hall in Kelligrews has moved further still towards development under the Town’s building rules. Council has given its approval for clearing and grubbing on the land, which is located between 583-599 Conception Bay Highway, 7-11 Butlers Road South and 25-27 Butlers Road South.
“This is a development that has been ongoing for some time in the planning process,” Hillier said. “And now finally it’s to the point where we’re prepared to give the developer permission to go ahead and start the grubbing process and therefore move into the development of that property.”
And finally, an application to redevelop the former Mandy’s Mini Mart property in Upper Gullies into a drive-thru oil change shop also moved further towards approval.
As part of the process, council is asking the provincial government if it has any comment on the application to change the zoning at 961 and 963 Conception Bay Highway.
“This is a property that has been used for multiple purposes in the past,” Hillier noted. “The application now is for a drive-thru oil change facility. It didn’t fit the existing zoning, so the request from the landowners is to rezone both properties from Residential Medium Density to Commercial General, which is the zone of a bunch of properties in that area. We’ve had public hearings and now we’re in the process of passing it off to the Province to see if they have any concerns about it.”