White City town council votes in favour of townhouse rental development

White City town council voted to change zoning rules, sparking strong reaction from residents in a packed meeting. Mick Favel reports.

White City town council voted in favour of a townhouse rental development, a decision which sparked a strong reaction from many citizens.

Town council met Monday night to vote on two bylaws which would allow the creation of a 200-unit housing project. Both were passed with a 3-2 vote.

Those who disagreed with the vote voiced their concerns to council and left shortly after hearing the outcome.

John Panter has been attending the council meeting for many years and said this development has garnered a lot of attention.

“I have never seen an issue like this one that has generated this much public opposition,” he said.

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Hundreds of residents attended a public hearing for the project in January. As part of that meeting, 30 residents in opposition of the project spoke. Additionally, more than 100 written submissions were sent in.

Residents also created a petition which garnered nearly 1,000 signatures which called for a referendum on the issue.

Royal Park Real Estate proposed and will manage the development.

When completed, the development will include townhomes featuring a mix of one, two and three bedroom layouts. The proposal also plans for approximately 400 parking stalls and garage spaces.

It is a completely new addition to White City which is largely made up of single-family, detached homes.

Panter said although there is a fear of the unknown, many who oppose the decision likely will stay in White City because it is a nice place to live.

“Is it going to remain a nice community if some of the fears that the people legitimately have come to fruition? Time will tell. The development might not be as bad as a lot of people think it’s going to be,” he said.

With files from CTV News’ Donovan Maess