NEWS FILE PHOTO A proposal to allow an array of 20-foot billboards on the northern and eastern sides of the grain elevator near the Allowance Avenue overpass received approval a Wednesday's meeting of the municipal planning commission.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Members of the municipal planning commission waded into the debate about whether city council should pay half the cost of residential fire sprinklers in a new subdivision.
The body has no authority over a pending council decision to provide $2,500 grants to new homebuyers in the Coulee Ridge area in the city’s southwest. That is described as a way to meet fire department response time standards in the area without the need to build a new firehall.
The commission approved the subdivision last spring, said public member Frank Divine at Wednesday’s meeting, and a specific note about response times was in the documents.
“If the developer was aware why does it fall back to the taxpayer,” he asked planning department officials.
“(A grant) helps someone do what they knew they had to do when the development was approved.”
Planning manager Kent Snyder said the grant was brought forward through the public services committee, which oversees the fire department, not his department.
But, he added, it is within council’s purview to debate the issue, which will occur at its next meeting on Feb. 18.
The cost, $100,000 for the initial 40-lot phase of the 220-lot development, would be paid from council’s contingency fund.
Another public member, Gordon Johnson, said that as future taxpayers, residents deserve equal consideration in terms of servicing.
“If the city allows the development, it needs to provide the same fire protection as other taxpayers – either by moving a fire station or (providing) sprinklers,” he said.
Another member, Pete Vanderham, said he felt the commission may need consider to use stronger wording in its decisions.
“I don’t think it’s fair to the public or fair to developers when we should be saying up front that ‘this is what needs to be done, and it’s your nickel, buddy.'”
The development has been highlighted as a sign of new economic activity by city officials and private sector observers. The developer, Enclave, has said it has sold more than half the lots in the first phase, and that it could help rejuvenate Medicine Hat’s new-home construction sector.
Billboards appealed
A development permit to erect eight large vertical billboards on a former grain elevator near the Allowance Avenue overpass is being challenged by a Medicine Hat resident on the grounds it would present a distraction to drivers and be unsightly.
A subdivision and appeal board hearing on the matter will be held Feb. 24.
The planning commission voted earlier this year to approve the development permit for the site with several conditions, including that the billboards be well-kept and subject to further conditions in the interest of public safety.
The site’s zoning typically would not allow billboards, and those that do limit the number and size. Two billboards would be electronic, though planning department officials stated they had no immediate concerns regarding traffic safety, but could monitor the situation.
Submissions from the public on the issue are due by the end of business on Feb. 18 for consideration at the hearing. Documentation is available at the city clerk’s office.
