A 99-unit mobile home park has been proposed to the District of 100 Mile House.
Nigel Hemingway of Cariboo Geographic Systems has applied for an amendment on the property located on the Exeter Truck route at the 101 Mile. On Tuesday, June 13 he made a joint zoning and Official Community Plan (OCP) bylaw amendment for council’s consideration.
The amendment would change the current zoning on the property from light industrial to a residential mobile home park zone and amend the OCP from industrial to medium-density residential. The property is not in the agricultural land reserve.
The project would also need to meet residential mobile home parks bylaw 269. While it largely appears to meet the bylaw provisions it was noted a draft new mobile home parks bylaw is currently under staff review.
Hemingway is making the application on behalf of the property’s owner, Khotan Holdings Ltd. No BC0699502.
In his application, Hemingway said that if the zoning amendments are approved it would allow for a 99-unit park on the 11.8-hectare property. Most of the pad sizes would be larger than the minimum required size of the zone.
In addition, 42 per cent of the land would be used for amenity areas. These would include a pond/wetland area, walking trails, a pickleball and tennis court plus a community garden area.
One of the common themes in the 2022 South Cariboo Housing Needs Assessment was the need for more individual accommodations, more communal accommodations and more housing for seniors. Hemingway said that this proposal can meet all these needs.
The South Cariboo has one of the largest aging populations by percentage in the province. There is currently little available for residents entering retirement who are looking to downsize to smaller and more easily maintained homes. A mobile home park would help fill this need.
The proposal would also give young families the ability to get into the real estate market at a reasonable cost.
The location puts the development in close proximity to the downtown and could be serviced by the existing bus service. There is also access to Highway 97 through a traffic-controlled intersection.
100 Mile Fire Rescue and the District had no objections to the proposal at the current time. Community services noted that there are no city services.
B.C. Hydro has no objection in principle to the proposed rezoning. They did provide a series of comments for the developers’ attention, however, that would need to be addressed.
After reviewing the joint OCP and zoning amendment application, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said that the existing access location on Exeter Truck Route appears to be adequate and sight distance can be maintained with proper vegetation management and referred the applicant to the pertinent supplement on drainage requirements.
First and second readings were made by council on June 13. A public hearing and third reading are scheduled for July 11.
fiona.grisswell@100milefreepress.net
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