Salvation Army cleared to expand CBS church

By Craig Westcott

If you’ve noticed how busy the Salvation Army Church in Long Pond is on almost any day of the week, you won’t be surprised to learn the group is looking to expand the building and parking lot.

CBS council last week granted approval in principle to add an extension to the place of worship. The approval includes a reduction of the side yard setback by half a metre and the removal of five small accessory buildings. One objection to the application was raised after it was advertised with the person requesting the Church erect a privacy fence or make a landscaped buffer around the extension.

Ward 3 councillor Gerard Tilley, who is the lead councillor for the planning department, added there was also a concern raised about the extra parking required and noise from potential open air Church services.
“Of course, the Salvation Army, just like any organization, would have to follow our current open-air regulations for noise,” Tilley noted.

The motion to approve the application passed unanimously.

“It’s nice to see that they’re looking to expand down there,” said Mayor Darrin Bent.
In other development news:

Council has approved another hobby farm on Garden Road in Seal Cove, but the applicants won’t be allowed to keep as many animals as hoped.

The couple had requested permission to keep 23 ducks and one goose on the property, noting the animals had been kept previously on a different property for two years, that “ducks and goose do not fly, are quiet by nature and have not posed any noise or nuisance concerns in the two years we have owned them.” The birds, the applicants added, are emotional support animals.

The Town received three submissions on the application after it was advertised, including two letters of objection, which included worries the animals will cause noise, create smells and attract rats affecting the quiet enjoyment of other properties in the neighbourhood.

Tilley said the Town’s approval is conditional on the property owners keeping a maximum of six fowl. The owners must also register the farm with the provincial farm identification program. Two accessory buildings were approved as part of the application.

“No roosters?” asked Mayor Darrin Bent, referring to the Town’s frequent stricture against male fowl when it comes to chicken coops.

“No roosters, as usual,” confirmed Tilley. “They’re against the regulations.”

Ward 4 councillor Melissa Hardy didn’t participate in the discussion or vote, citing a conflict of interest.
And finally, council has granted approval to allow a minimum building line setback for an 85-unit subdivision on the site of the big vegetable farm in Seal Cove between Piccos Road and Macmar Lane, across the street from Denver’s Take-Out.

The development, situated between 975 and 987 Conception Bay Highway, is projected to extend over 8.3 acres and will create a new street running parallel to Macmar Lane with single and duplex housing units like the upscale, slab on grade constructions catering to seniors on Macmar Lane.

The application passed unanimously.