Over a hundred people filed through the Fernie Senior Citizens Drop-In Centre on Tuesday (May 3) to view high-level plans for the Montane development in Fernie.
General Manager of Parastone Developments Simon Howse said the open house was to get feedback from the community on their vision for the development and work in some suggestions to their master plan.
“I’m pleased to hear how positive everyone is about it,” he said on the day.
The high-level plans as revealed show a collection of ‘pocket neighbourhoods’, each with a different character and located in distinct areas of the development, such as the ‘Terraces’ area which is what currently exists there, along with a ‘Creekside’ neighbourhood framed by Coal Creek and Brewery Creek, ‘Hilltop’ which is uphill of the Terraces, and ‘Castle Ridge’ to the south. Each neighbourhood will be fully integrated with the trails system.
No concrete plans for what housing mix will make up each neighbourhood were detailed in the concept, but the company says that each neighbourhood will be varied depending on how appropriate each area is for different types of developments, including low and medium density residential and and neighbourhood mixed use. Medium density would include multi-unit development such as townhouses and condos, while mixed use includes the potential for tourism accommodation and staff housing.
Currently, only the low-density ‘Terraces’ neighbourhood exists, along with the ‘Valley Commons’ which is where the Montane Park sits. The Valley Commons will be further developed to make more full use of the land for recreational amenities.
Howse said that plans for a Neighbourhood Hub area on Montane Parkway had been well received.
“A lot of the comments are in support of the neighbourhood hub area.”
He said that plans for the hub currently included staff housing, a trail head and a brew pub, and they wanted to hear back from more people on what other amenities people wanted to be there. The hub would be across from the future school to be built on Montane Parkway and Cokato Rd.
Other features in the concept maps were a campground and more community open space. The Montane Development land is over 600 acres of land, and the plans as seen on Tuesday included a large tract of land left open for further development beyond the plans as revealed.
Parastone Developments will be taking feedback received on Tuesday and incorporating some of it into some more refined plans to be brought back for further public input in June. The public input is part of efforts by Parastone to create a new master plan for the land, which was previously envisioned to be a golf course back in the 00’s.
READ MORE: School district envisages high-capacity middle school for Fernie
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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