Paradise okays apartment add-ons
By Mark Squibb
Paradise council has approved the construction of six homes, each with a subsidiary apartment, at 122-124 St. Thomas Line, though the approval did not come without some discussion of the development’s impact on the area and development as a whole.
Council initially granted approval in principle for the six-home subdivision back in September 2025. Following that, the developer requested permission to add an apartment to each home.
The matter was brought forward for discussion during council’s February 3rd committee of the whole meeting.
“There’s an approval in place for the six units, and now they’re wondering whether or not approval can also be provided for the six subsidiary apartments as part of it,” said councillor Sheldon Antle.
The address, said Antle, is zoned Residential Low-Density, though the lot across the street is zoned as Medium-Density, and council had discretionary power to approve the apartments.
“Obviously, adding six dwellings and potentially six new apartments on top of that, does increase the traffic burden we’ll see on St. Thomas Line and Paradise Road area, and that’s always a consideration we have,” said Antle. “I do note that that was a concern brought forward by one individual.”
Antle added there are similar apartments across the street.
Councillor Jennifer Hiscock said that while on the campaign trail many residents said they wished Paradise would slow down development.
“‘We need to freeze development,’ and ‘It’s getting out of hand’, and ‘Our infrastructure is not catching up with our development,’” said Hiscock. “This came time after time. And here we are with more and more development approvals coming to us as a council.”
Hiscock asked whether it was in council’s ability to “freeze” developments when residents raise such concerns.
Antle said he heard similar concerns and allowed councils need to strike a delicate balance while also holding true to it’s municipal plan and development regulations.
“If we do decide to move down the road where we’re denying approval for development, we have to provide reasons for refusal that are consistent with planning, notify an applicant of their rights and the process to appeal development decisions, and we have to be aware that it would expose the Town to significant legal challenges, so there are a lot of legalities to the question,” said Antle. “You’re certainly correct, we’ve heard it at the doors – ‘We’re growing so fast, we’re growing so fast.’ We’re a victim of our own success sometimes. In terms of saying ‘freeze everything and hold on until we catch up,’ it’s beholden upon council to ensure that we’re making the necessary investments in infrastructure to catch up, while all those developments are still occurring.”
Council Glen Carew noted that as the cost of operating a municipality grows, so does the need for development to pay for those rising costs.
“Development, essentially, tries to keep pace with incremental costs, and keeps the mil rate at a point where residents feel that council, and the Town, are being responsible, and that’s how we have to keep moving forward,” said Carew.
The application to add the apartments to the new houses was approved unanimously during the February 10th public meeting the following week.