CANMORE – The public will have its chance to weigh in on Canmore council potentially moving forward with policy to discourage employee housing in Canmore’s light industrial areas.
A public hearing will take place Tuesday (Sept. 3) at council’s monthly meeting and potentially bring clarity to a topic that’s stretched on for more than two years.
If passed by council, employee housing would be removed from the light industrial district and general industrial district. The two areas are near Glacier Drive and Elk Run Boulevard and encompass Bow Meadows Crescent.
Employee housing would be removed from the light industrial district and general industrial district. The two areas are near Glacier Drive and Elk Run Boulevard and encompass Bow Meadows Crescent.
Additional restrictions would also be placed on the southern business district – near the municipal heliport – and the transition industrial district along Industrial Place.
Council previously voted 4-3 last September to have Town staff return with updated policies to discourage employee housing in the municipality’s light industrial areas.
A July staff report highlighted three sections of the MDP that would need to be changed by council majority.
“The proposed amendments change the language in the MDP from support if certain criteria can be met, to non-support for new development proposals in industrial areas to the north of the Trans-Canada Highway, and more specific criteria for industrial areas to the south,” stated the staff report.
Section 2.2 which outlines the pattern of growth would have a slight change under the industrial component, while Section 5.3 which indicates market affordable housing would remove, add and reword two subsections. Section 12.1 focuses on general industrial policies and would have a subsection modified.
Four land use districts are also proposed for changes in the land use bylaw. However, previously approved employee housing units, would become legal non-conforming and continue to be used for employees.
“There will not be an opportunity to apply for additional employee housing units on the same property, however,” stated the report of the light industrial district and general industrial district in the Bow Meadows Crescent area.
The proposed changes to the land use bylaw would be more robust than the MDP, with the four districts removed, reworded or added, specifically employee housing provision subsections.
Town staff are proposing rather than remove employee housing from the transition industrial district on Industrial Place and southern business district near the municipal heliport, some accommodation be allowed.
The transition industrial district and southern business district are proposed to replace the term employee housing with dwelling units above the ground floor. If approved, the staff report states it will shift the district to “more mixed commercial/industrial development that is better suited to support some residential use.”
Faizel Poonja of the Canmore Bottle Depot wrote to council expressing the difficulty in finding housing for employees who “struggle to find suitable housing within their means” due to high cost of living.
Poonja wrote without employee housing, they would have to pay higher wages that would impact the viability of the business or risk losing staff. If employee housing in the light industrial areas were allowed, Poonja stated it would help attract and retain staff and mitigate cost of living.
“Let us not forget that our small businesses form the backbone of our community. We contribute to our unique character, provide employment opportunities, and enhance our quality of life,” Poonja wrote. “Removing employee housing as a discretionary use jeopardizes this delicate equilibrium.”
Nicole Tremblay of Fireweed Glass Studio on Bow Meadows Crescent added her full support to council moving ahead with removing housing in industrial zones in a brief letter.
Tourist Canmore Kananaskis CEO Rachel Ludwig wrote with the community in a housing crisis and businesses struggling to retain and hire staff, employers are looking at all housing options such as in light industrial areas.
“By allowing discretionary or multi-use (i.e. employee Housing and/or industrial use), market demand will allow for changes of use based on the needs of the community,” she wrote to council. “If in the future, we are no longer in a housing crisis and the demand for second floor industrial space is greater than that for housing, these spaces might be converted back to industrial and commercial spaces.”
Ludwig highlighted additional commercial and industrial space will be created in the Palliser area, but also Smith Creek and Three Sisters Village development plans.
“While we cannot be certain what future needs are, we do know that right now, the business community of Canmore is in dire need of employee housing,” she wrote.
She pointed to a trio of Town economic-based documents that highlight that housing is tied to the community’s economy.
Ludwig highlighted different aspects of council’s strategic plan that she felt the bylaw disregarded, particularly “the number of businesses and business organizations opposed to the proposed amendments, [and] the lack of consultation with these stakeholders is concerning.”
Employee housing in the town’s light industrial areas has become a polarizing topic for more than the last two years.
In the area of Bow Meadows Crescent, there are new buildings under construction or recently completed at Alpine Meadows and 121 Bow Meadows Cres., but the majority of any buildings that would be asked to transition to employee housing would need to be retrofitted.
However, housing in the light industrial near the municipal heliport and Industrial Place are being asked to be permitted due to employee housing units being newly built such as Moose Meadows and housing on Industrial Place.
The new regulation, if approved, would have residential units be no more than 30 per cent of the gross floor area. The dwelling units would be no more than 37-84 square metres, with specific sizing dependent on bachelor, one-, two- or three-bedroom units.
In addition to districts being clarified, the wellhead protection study that was approved in the 2022 budget will also be modified. The study, which is set to come to committee of the whole in September, clarifies the location of the aquifer from where the Town gets its drinking water since land uses may impact it.
The study “recommends the removal of potential industrial uses that could impair the aquifer that provides the Town’s potable water supply from the [transition industrial] district,” according to the report.
Throughout 2022 and 2023, employee housing in light industrial areas of Canmore became contentious. The Canmore Planning Commission and Subdivision and Development Appeal Board each heard multiple applications that received a mixture of approvals and denials.
CPC approved 12 employee housing units in May 2022 at 121 Bow Meadows Cres. and a subsequent July 2023 hearing led to an increase to 15 units.
Two one-bedroom units at 127 Bow Meadows Cres. was approved by SDAB last February. A well-attended May SDAB hearing had more than 30 people in attendance and 16 businesses and individuals spoke in support of employee housing at 100 Alpine Meadows. SDAB ruled against Basecamp Resorts proposal for 12 second floor employee housing units to add 34 bedrooms.
Town staff recommended against employee housing in light industrial areas, saying it would take away land for commercial and industrial use, but also that those areas lacked amenities for residents, were typically louder and less connected to the community. Municipal staff also noted the potential for such units to be used for illegal vacation homes.
Businesses and property owners in favour of employee housing in such areas stressed the need to create housing for staff, particularly due to the limited availability and struggle to run businesses.
