The Trading Post at Sunset Ridge has filed an appeal in response to its recently struck-down application to increase residential development at the site.
The appeal will go before the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB) March 2.
“We will speak at the appeal in opposition,” said Fraser Kulba, Trading Post homeowners representative.
“I respect that landowners have rights … what I don’t respect is someone who is going to renege on their promises for their own benefit and to everyone else’s peril,” said Kulba, emphasizing that should the appeal be granted there would be no benefit to anyone but the applicant.
The Cochrane Planning Commission (CPC) voted 7-0 against an application Jan. 18, which sought to alter the project to a four-storey residential building with a total of 63 units. It had previously been approved for a three-storey building with main floor retail and 31 residential units on the second and third storeys.
Kulba cited numerous concerns with the reduction of commercial space and the addition of 32 residential units at the CPC meeting held last month.
Concerns included increased parking pressures, negative impact on existing commercial operators due to less foot traffic, a broken social contract with the existing homeowners and a shift away from mainly owner-occupied units to a focus on rental units.
Members of the CPC agreed with the bulk of Kulba’s concerns.
Applicant Tony Robinson, president of the Trading Post, said he is “trying to work with the community to find something that will work.”
He also did not agree with Kulba’s sentiments that more renter-occupied spaces would have negative implications because these units would be managed on site.
With respect to parking, he said while the northwest corner of the parking lot can be congested, there is plenty of availability in the southeast corner.
According to Robinson, there is a misconception commercial space in the development is filling quickly. He said Townhall Public House and Kids and Company Daycare have taken the bulk of the space because both utilize much larger units than typical commercial tenants, which means it has taken the developer four years to lease 16,000 sq. ft. Should the appeal be a dead end, 36,000 sq. ft. of commercial space would still be available.
Robinson said it would not be realistic to lease that much space due to the economic downturn and the competition from commercial sites opening in future phases of Sunset Ridge.
He said it is also not realistic for that centre to compete with downtown Cochrane businesses because the location and accessibility is only desirable for Sunset Ridge residents.
Kulba said the onus is on the developer to stick to the terms under which existing homeowners bought their homes, saying residents should not be expected to shoulder the burden of market conditions or planning flaws.
Robinson said the Trading Post is continually soliciting tenants with the help of local agents.
He said a “well-known cupcake tenant from Airdrie” will soon be opening its Trading Post location. Work is also being done to secure a salon and nail boutique and a medical vendor.
Riley Welden, senior planner for the town, said the applicant is “within their rights” to appeal to the SDAB – which is comprised of two members of council and five members at large.
Should the applicant remain unsuccessful, it could file an appeal with the Court of Queen’s Bench, but Welden said that course of action is “very rare.”
