Lots of people came out to voice their opinion on the advantages and disadvantages to legally store RV units on the land owned by the Baptist Seminary.

The Seminary has been storing RVs on their lot for a number of years but not as a licensed business; initial discussions of having their land use changed, date back to 2011.

Land use for the area is designated as 'public service' and storing RVs is not listed under permitted usage, therefore in order to proceed, a land use amendment needed approval. While Town administration did not support the application as it contravenes the Municipal Development Plan, Council has directed administration to proceed in making amendments which would change the land use to permitted, though it has not been voted on.

Quentin Collier, a Sunset Ridge resident is disappointed in council's decision.

"I think my concerns are not only traffic volume but at that intersection there is also a significant safety issue. Anyone who knows the area, knows that RR43 if you are coming in from the east there are terrible sight lines for drivers and you've got a large hill on the left and large hill on the right and it's very hard to see what's coming down Highway 22 toward you. Even small vehicles have a hard time getting out making a right or left  hand turn without putting themselves in jeopardy."

Councillor Morgan Nagel says they decided to permit the usage because creating a discretionary usage would have sent the plan back to the Cochrane Planning Commission (CPC) for approval; because the issue had hundreds of people engaged, Nagel felt that sending it back to the CPC was not the right move.

"I don't think it would have been appropriate for council to defer the decision and council was basically unanimously in agreement that we wanted it to be approved and if that is the case then I thought it was best we approve the use rather than defer it to someone else."

While Nagel does not downplay community members concern, he does feel this is a better option than housing RVs in driveways or residential roadways.

"I understand people not necessarily wanting a RV storage unit by their house but the unfortunate situation in Cochrane is that it is entirely surrounded by residential areas. Unless someone is going to buy some prime real estate downtown to build an RV storage lot basically any site in town is going to have to be near something residential, and I actually think its's wiser to stick an RV lot on the the outskirts rather than the heart of our business sector."

Julian De Cocq, Town of Cochrane, Chief Administrative Officer, says from a planning perspective it may not necessarily be the best use for the area, but economics play a role when it comes to finding a long term, in-town solution for RV storage.

For now, De Cocq, says administration will make sure the land owners abide to amendments to lighting, fencing, and landscaping.

"An application coming in the door has to be pretty precise in meeting those conditions or they just wouldn't be approved. So the idea now is to capture as much as possible within the bylaw itself. 

De Cocq adds that while people may not always agree with the planning decisions, he feels the town does a pretty good job.

"We're very lucky in a community like Cochrane, for the most part we can all look around and say the planning decisions being made are good decisions. As you look at the community growing and the different plans coming in, it is still on balance."

Council will still need to vote on the amended permitted use on December 12.

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