Parastone to host open house to invite input on Montane in Fernie

Local development company, Parastone, will be holding an open house to share its vision for the Montane development and invite community input next week.

According to director of operations at Parastone, Doug Cassidy, the open house was a way to invite community feedback and buy-in to the broader Parastone vision for the development in Fernie, with a focus on what the community wants in terms of single and multi-family housing, and where to put it.

“We have some high level concepts we’ll be sharing at the Open House on May 3, but we want to get input before the ink’s dry and while there’s still the opportunity for that input to be utilised. We recognise there’ll be some input we can incorporate into the plan,” he said.

The Montane property, to the south and east of Fernie, is a 600-acre property that was originally envisioned to be a golf course development in the early 00’s.

As of 2022, less than 150 acres of the property have been developed by Parastone. There’s no more golf course plans, and Parastone are developing an updated comprehensive plan that leans on the growing trails network in the area instead.

“The trails system is one of the primary amenities in the Montane community. There’s very clear intent to maintain that trail network, and to add to that network in time. There’s significant greenspace identified, and a lot of natural forest on the Montane property that we expect to maintain,” said Cassidy, explaining that the overall vision is to create a development plan that blends into the mountain topography of the area.

Owner of Parastone, Simon Howse, said that for Montane today, “the trail system is like our golf course.”

“It’s something we’ll maintain, and it’ll always be open to the public. It’s an integral part of our development process.”

The goal of the open house is to help Parastone create a new comprehensive plan that can back up a new zoning plan.

The open house will be held at the Senior Citizens Drop-In Centre at 562 3rd Ave in Fernie on May 3, from 4pm to 8pm.

Feedback gathered from the open house will be worked in to a more detailed vision that will be shared through a second open house later this year.

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