Because there hasn’t been any interest from developers to purchase and develop the three-acre “Richter Property” near the town’s West Bench, Town of Osoyoos council is being asked to consider the option of having the town take on the role of developing the proposed 300-unit subdivision.
Senior administration forwarded a proposal last week asking council to consider having the town act as its own housing subdivision developer for the Richter property south of the new fire hall site on the west side of Hwy. 97.
Mayor Sue McKortoff and members of council opted to take their time and approved a recommendation for the town to host a housing symposium for local builders and realtors for input on suitable housing types and any other development considerations affecting subdivision design relating to the Richter property to be held in Osoyoos in August.
Council also approved spending $5,200 so an architect can prepare a draft proposal looking at various options to develop this site, including an affordable housing component that council has already voted must be included in any development of the Richter property.
“To date there have been no serious responses to our invitations for Expressions of Interest for a developer to purchase and build out our 3.23 acre Richter property with about 40 mixed housing units, including five near-market affordable units,” said Alain Cunningham, the town’s director of planning and development during a presentation to town council on Monday. “If council agrees to the town taking on the subdivision development role, we would subdivide the property for housing, service the lots and competitively sell them to building contractors and use the profits to recoup our servicing investments and include some affordable housing units.
“Phasing would be considered for reducing front end costs.”
The property in question is what is left over from the town’s $2.3 million land purchase in 2009 for the new fire hall, said Cunningham.
The property is a strategically located component of council’s area plan for developing the Southeast Meadowlark project, which includes original plans for 300 medium-density housing units over the long term.
“Most of the area is still in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), but the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) has agreed in the principle to release lands as needed at the town’s request, as long as the proposed development in question accords with area land policies,” said Cunningham. “In particular, the ALC will look for us to make best use of the land with medium-density housing at about 30 units per hectare, and to meet social purposes with an affordable housing component.”
The Southeast Meadowlark proposal was intended to offer moderately-priced, but quality-designed housing in a residential neighbourhood with a diversity of residents ranging from young families with children to seniors and everybody in between, he said.
Council has already approved “form-based zoning” for this area using written guidelines to help integrate together diverse low-rise housing forms, including many ground entry units, sited relatively close together at medium densities, he said.
One of the challenges for developing the Richter property will be to select the right housing types for today’s market, he said.
“Small-lot single-family homes are probably a realistic choice for younger families and especially those with children, but it needs to be confirmed what other housing choices may be suitable prospects among duplexes, fourplexes, row housing, low-rise apartments and carriage homes,” he said.
Development of this property would benefit from plugging into infrastructure being developed for the new fire hall, said Cunningham.
Town council has agreed to provide $5,200 in funding so architect Carlo DeStefano, who has worked previously on Southeast Meadowlark proposals, to provide an updated development concept options for the Richter property.
“These updates would include the new connector road alignment, alternative housing options for today’s market and phasing considerations,” said Cunningham. “A selected design concept would probably have to be refined after the symposium as the basis for final subdivision design and later advertising for lot sales.”
If town council were to eventually approve moving forward with this new subdivision, other steps would include discussing finances during the 2015-16 budget deliberations, getting ALR exclusion before next March and starting to sell lots next spring, with potential construction beginning late next spring, said Cunningham.
Jim Zakall, the town’s director of financial services, said selling lots would help finance the majority of infrastructure costs that would be incurred to build new homes on the Richter property.
Coun. C. J. Rhodes asked Cunningham the reasons why he believes there has been no interest by developers in building this proposed subdivision.
“If nobody seems interested, why would we move forward with this?” he asked.
Cunningham said developers he deals with are more interested in building large-scale subdivisions like this in more populated communities like Penticton and Kelowna.
Council’s commitment to ensuring a percentage of the housing with this project would be affordable housing would also not appeal to some developers, said Cunningham.
Cunningham said he’s “not surprised” developers haven’t committed to this project because of the large capital investment involved, but he remains convinced developing the Richter property subdivision can be successful if implemented in phases by the town.
Allowing De Stefano to complete a report and holding the housing symposium for local homebuilders will be a good step forward in determining the viability of this project under current market conditions, said Cunningham.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said the town has been trying to develop the Richter property for many years and she’s hopeful the upcoming symposium will generate interest and provide answers to key questions moving forward.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
