Phase 4 of Casa Rio Development in Oliver has been cancelled and residents now want the “unsightly” property cleaned up.
Last week council instructed staff to file a cancellation notice with respect to the undeveloped portion of Casa Rio at 921 Spillway Road.
“It would have been nice to have it finished,” said Mayor Ron Hovanes, who acknowledged residents’ concerns about the weeds and unsightliness of the undeveloped site.
He said the Town will be as proactive as possible to prevent the site from becoming an inconvenience to residents.
The project first obtained a joint development/variance permit in 2005. The development proceeded as a phased strata project consisting of four phases. Initially, the fourth phase was to proceed on March 15, 2009, but that was amended to March 15, 2011, and amended again to March 15, 2013.
On February 28 of this year, the Town was served notice from the developer that phase 4 would not proceed.
“With the market the way it is, the owner is not proceeding,” said Municipal Manager Tom Szalay.
As a result, the remaining undeveloped portion will act as a separate parcel and will have nothing to do with the strata (other than being a neighbouring parcel.
Szalay said future development of the remaining parcel will be considered on its own merit, most likely with independent access to the street and independent utility services.
In the meantime, Casa Rio residents want the site cleaned up. Resident Ruth Desautels told council the lot is full of weeds and wanted to know who was going to look after that.
Szalay said the Town could act on the complaint by sending the owner a notice to clean up the site. If the work isn’t done, the Town would do the job and add the cost to the owner’s taxes.
What would happen if someone decided to build something else on the undeveloped lot? Desautels asked.
Hovanes said the Town would have to approve it first.
Szalay said the property is zoned multi-family residential. He noted you can’t build single family units or duplexes there without a zoning change. He added that any new development there would require its own access.
