At long last, it appears the much talked about housing development in northwest Estevan is moving forward.
According to the agenda for tonight's regular meeting of Estevan city council, a development proposal from Essex Developments will be presented. Essex is the Alberta, based company behind the residential development that has become known as The Meadows.
First unveiled to the public back in August of 2011, The Meadows is a masterplan neighborhood that will be built on a 118 acre parcel of land located north of Wellock Road.
With housing an ongoing issue in the city, there was great excitement about the project after it was unveiled. However, as progress appeared to stall on The Meadows and other developments moved forward, the project has fallen out of the spotlight.
That seems likely to change now with the presentation of the subdivision proposal tonight.
According to the accompanying report from land development services manager Rob Denys, there have been some changes to the initial land use concept plan that council agreed to in principal in 2011.
Denys said although Essex is requesting a subdivision proposal for the entire 118 acres, the plan is to develop the subdivision in phases as demand warrants.
Phase 1 will see 51 single-family lots developed in the area adjacent to Wellock Road. The lots will have frontages of 52 feet in width and depths ranging from 115 to 140 feet. A three acre institutional/multi-unit site is also part of Phase 1 along with 4.56 acres of multi-family land to help serve the immediate local demand.
The remaining land will apparently be developed as the infrastructure is constructed and will be comprised of space for medium/high density developments and modular homes, which will be located on bare land condo sites. Denys said at full build out The Meadows will accommodate 529 low density housing units and 811 medium to high density units, which would be able to accommodate 2,875 people.
The multi-unit residential parcels will be contained to the mid-southwest quadrant while the single-family residences will be in the extreme south and southeast area. The modular and manufactured homes will be located in the northern portion of the development.
The plan going to council also includes room for a future park/green space and storm water detention ponds on 11 acres of land.
In terms of roads, The Meadows will have one main collector road running north and south with various local and minor streets and private roads coming off the main strip. Rear lands will be available to the majority of the lots and there will also be walkways for pedestrians.
The land is zoned for agricultural purposes and a rezoning bylaw received first reading in 2012. However, the bylaw was put on hold so the City could look at all changes made by the developer. Now that they have seen the final plan, Denys noted that the rezoning bylaw could move forward tonight.
In his comments, city manager Jim Puffalt said the agreement represents a long-term project that will help address the local housing shortage and places the city in a position for growth. Puffalt also thanked the various City department managers and council members who worked with Essex to ensure the project became a reality.
Housing will be a major topic of tonight's council meeting as there are three other projects on the agenda.
Lieutenant Brian Bobolo of the Salvation Army and Rev. Brenna Nickel are also scheduled to speak to council about the local homeless shelter.
