By David F. Rooney
The Clearview Heights project is completely off the Community Housing Society’s table.
In a memo to City Council on Tuesday Community Economic Development Director Alan Mason said the two rental units that had been planned for Maple Lane will now be built at Bridge Creek.
He said in an interview Wednesday that when a survey of the lane was made recently, the society and the City discovered that the existing road is not in the proper place. It is so far out of the roadway allowance that, if it was reconfigured properly it would take up too much of the usable space on the lots where the two rental units were to be built.
“In addition there could potentially be further expenses… with drainage and geotechnical issues,” he said in a memo to City Council on Tuesday. “Having run the numbers, it is unlikely that the Society can build housing on this site that can be rented at an affordable rate.”
So — it’s back to Square One and Bridge Creek Properties.
He said the Housing Society is talking with the City’s Planning and Public Works Departments about building duplexes at that site under a Comprehensive Development Zone approved by the City last year.
In his memo, Mason said a “comprehensive business plan” will be presented to Council in two weeks. That plan will include detailed costs of construction and a financial plan.
The Society is currently operating with an incomplete board. There are four City Councillors sitting as directors: Phil Welock, Antoinette Halberstadt, Chris Johnston and Steve Bender. In addition, Council recently reappointed Alan Mason and Loni Parker, the CSRD’s director for Area B, to the board.
Council did select four new directors to represent the public during the in camera portion of its meeting on Tuesday. The names of those individuals have not yet been released.
Mason could not say if the board would select a new executive director, now that Corin Flood has resigned (Click here to read that story). Some of the tasks Flood once performed have been farmed out to the City Planning Department but the Society will, at the very least, need a project manager to oversee construction of the two rental units at Bridge Creek.
