Work is progressing on constructing a new fire hall on the Richter property in Osoyoos. A deal signed recently will lead to construction of affordable housing on 20 lots on the remainder of the Richter property to the south. (Richard McGuire photo)
All that remains for the Town of Osoyoos to begin construction on a “landmark development” that would include close to 300 new homes and residential units in the largest subdivision project in decades is approval from the province’s Agricultural Land Commission (ALC).
Following a comprehensive study from Alain Cunningham, the town’s director of planning and development late Monday afternoon, Mayor Sue McKortoff and members of council voted unanimously in favour of approving an application to the ALC for release of the chunk of land more commonly known as the “Richter Property remainder” from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Council then set the date of May 14 at 4 p.m. to hold a public hearing to amend bylaws allowing the Richter property development to proceed.
The town-owned Richter property is located in the Southeast Meadowlark plan area of Osoyoos, adjacent to Highway 97.
“It is the remainder 3.23-acre property left over from acquiring the site for our new fire hall, which is currently under construction,” said Cunningham.
When the ALC excludes this land from the ALR, the town has signed a contract with a developer to built out 24 small lot, single-family homes and two duplex buildings for a total of 28 housing units, said Cunningham.
Four of those units will be subsidized as affordable units as the town has committed to forming an affordable housing committee in the near future, he said.
The subdivision will be a co-operative effort between the Town of Osoyoos acting as its own subdivision developer to sell serviced lots to Ellcar Construction, who will build and sell the homes, said Cunningham.
Ellcar has agreed to buy 20 building lots from the town over the next two years and have first right of refusal on the remainder.
The town submitted a lengthy proposal to the province dating back to 2010 detailing its plans to develop the Southeast Meadowlark subdivision, which would include close to 300 new homes, townhouses, condos and affordable housing units.
The Richter property development would be Phase 1 of the Southeast Meadowlark development, said Cunningham.
The province replied with a set of stringent rules and regulations that would have to be adopted and instituted if they were to have any success in getting the land needed for this huge subdivision to be excluded from the ALR by the ALC.
Cunningham said he believes the town has worked diligently to meet all criteria and he’s confident the exclusion will be granted to allow for the entire Southeast Meadowlark development to proceed over several phases over the next 10 to 15 years.
“The Agricultural Land Commission endorsed our Southeast Meadowlark area plan by resolution and, on the strength of its policies, granted in principle to exclude ALR lands in the area over time on an as-needs application basis,” said Cunningham.
A lot of time and effort has gone into completing small details to appease the concerns of the ALC throughout the process over several years, said Cunningham.
“Osoyoos faces special challenges in welcoming new growth because our land base is hemmed in by the lake, mountainous areas to the west and east, the international border to the south, Osoyoos Indian Reserve No. 1 and surrounding agricultural lands,” said Cunningham. “To meet these challenges and promote best practices, Osoyoos was the first local government in the South Okanagan to adopt an urban growth boundary, which will only be selectively extended out to meet priority needs, while minimizing impacts on agricultural lands.
“While we currently have sufficient growth capacity for large lot suburban homes at one end of the market and high-density apartment buildings at the other end, we do need land for affordable, medium-density housing to accommodate younger families and others. The 40-acre Southeast Meadowlark block is ideally suited for this purpose because it contains reasonably-sized developable parcels, can be economically serviced, is accessible to our downtown and has been transitioning away from agricultural use.”
If the land is released from the ALR, the town has identified 22.3 acres of land that could be built up to about 300 medium-density housing units, depending on the mix of housing types to meet this type of housing need in Osoyoos for many years to come, he said.
The town plans for the Southeast Meadowlark subdivision to be developed “as a showpiece of urban design excellence,” he said.
All single-family homes in the Richter subdivision will have 1,200 to 1,400 square feet of floor space over two floors and the duplexes will be comparably sized, he said.
“Success of the Richter subdivision is expected to be a catalyst for subsequent development of some privately-owned lands in the area, where the town will promote even higher-density housing forms,” he said.
“The Richter property will be fully equipped with urban services, including streets, sidewalks and lighting, some visitor parking stalls, sanitary and storm sewers and separate domestic and irrigation water supply.”
Efficiencies will be achieved by connecting to services already being installed for the new fire hall, he said.
The proposed Southeast Meadlowlark project would include not only single-family homes, but townhouses, row housing, condominium units and apartment buildings.
The town has committed that 15 per cent of the units would be deemed “affordable housing” and they will be forming an affordable housing authority in the very near future.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said development of the Richter property and Southeast Meadlowlark subdivision is exciting news for the town and she’s confident the ALC will grant the exclusion.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
