CBS clears the way for 64-unitseniors apartment building

By Craig Westcott

All members of CBS council signaled their strong support last week for a proposed 64-unit apartment building for seniors slated to be built at 12 – 16 Rideouts Road, in Long Pond, just around the corner from the Town Hall.

Councillor-at-Large Rex Hillier made the motion to rezone the land from Residential Medium Density to Residential Multi-Unit to allow for construction of the four-storey building.

“This has been a project that has been ongoing for some time,” said Hillier. “We know that initially there were concerns about storm water management, sewage management, parking, and traffic on Kitty Ade’s Turn and on Rideouts Road. The proponent has completed a significant report dealing with all of those issues.”
Hillier said CBS needs more housing for seniors.

“When we have public information sessions there are always people in the audience who are looking for these types of accommodations,” he said. “And we know that in this area we have several residents who have concerns about the size of the project and their personal privacy once it’s put there, so this evening we bring it here for a vote.”

Ward 3 councillor Gerard Tilley fell on the side of providing more housing.

“CBS is not like it was 20 years ago,” Tilley said. “We received e-mails, we’ve received petitions from folks who are opposed to the current application, but we also received just as many correspondences from people who are very, very content and intent on seeing these types of developments come to Conception Bay South. Every time that we have these residential multi-unit (applications), whether they are eight or 10-unit dwellings, they’re gone just like that in the clip of a finger.”

Tilley said there are many seniors looking to downsize.

“I think the positives outweigh the not so positive things for this development and I’ll wholeheartedly support this application,” Tilley said.

Councillor-at-Large Joshua Barrett reiterated the application has been on council’s radar for a while.
“The developer did all of the necessary groundwork for us to be here this evening,” Barrett said. “I certainly appreciate all the perspectives on this. I believe that this development is a huge asset for our town… I frankly think we’re going to see other applications similar to this coming forward over the coming years, whether it’s like this or other types of affordable, accessible housing arrangements. I think it should proceed so I’ll be supporting this motion.”

Ward 1 councillor Shelley Moores noted she attended the public information session on the project held earlier this fall.

“And like councillor Tilley said, there were just as many people in favour as there were against,” she said.
Moores said when she was campaigning for re-election this fall she met a number of people who are looking to downsize, but have nowhere to go.

“It’s a huge need and I think having these developments in our community are really going to benefit a lot of people,” Moores said.

Councillor-at-Large Christine Butler described the building’s location as very fitting.

“It’s close to the library, it’s close to Sobey’s and shopping, so it’s very good that way,” Butler said. “And certainly, we do need these kinds of accommodations and rentals in this town.”

Butler pointed out a quarter of Newfoundland’s population are people aged 65 and older.

“That speaks to the increase in the older population in CBS who are looking to downsize,” she said.

Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse said there has been a lot of development in CBS, but most of it has been for single family homes.

“In this community there are a lot of seniors, or people who are approaching those years that are looking to downsize,” said Gosse. “They want to retire in the community they lived in. There is a demand here now, we know it. This particular developer had a list of 80 names of people looking to downsize into smaller housing. I think he’s done his work, he’s done the land use impact assessment report, he’s investigated all the questions, all the variables that we asked him to, that were concerns, and I think this is going to be a real positive project and a great addition to our community.”
Ward 4 councillor Melissa Hardy agreed.

“I think it is a need within the town,” said Hardy. “And I do feel the developer has done his work. He’s also met with residents multiple times on site at the times that are convenient to them so I really feel like they’re certainly doing everything they can to make sure anyone in the surrounding area, if they feel they are being impacted, have a voice as well. I think it’s the right thing to move forward and I think we’re going to see more of these coming forward, because there is a lot of people looking to downsize to a smaller residence.”
Councillor-at-Large Warrick Cluney felt similarly. “It’s something the town really needs,” he said. “And hopefully going forward we’ll see more of this to help the residents of the town.”

Clewing up the debate, Mayor Darrin Bent noted the application is for an apartment building, not condos.
“It’s more than just downsizing,” said the mayor, arguing it’s an opportunity for people who can no longer keep up with the physical demands of maintaining their properties.

“This is an apartment and I believe it will offer for many of the seniors in our town, who absolutely want to spend the rest of their lives here in Conception Bay South in the town they love and not have to go somewhere else to find housing, the opportunity to be maintenance free and to be able to sell their property and allow someone else to move into that property and continue on. And then they can take their money and be able to live maintenance free in a new facility that meets their needs and gives them a lot of freedom in their senior years. And to be honest with you, I’m disappointed we’re not looking at more than one of these tonight. I wish we were approving four or five of them.”

Bent allowed some people will have concerns, but added the Town has worked with the developer to try to mitigate them. “I’m very pleased that this proposal has come our way and that we’re finally – I’m a little disappointed at how long it’s taken— but hopefully going forward we’ll be quicker getting to this point with some of the more developments that I’m sure we’re going to see and get these things going for the people who have been waiting for years to have an option,” he said.

To that point, Hillier noted this application is the first one of its size. “Because of the magnitude we met with the proponent early and our staff put together a plan and the proponent took the four years and worked through that plan, and I think that has created a model going forward as to how we want to deal with these projects,” said the councillor. “And I commend our staff on the work that they’ve done getting this to this point.”