Galloway Lands is back on the table.
That shouldn’t surprise anyone. When developer Reto Barrington and owner Bud Nelson pulled their proposal off the Regional District of East Kootenay’s books last year, they said they would tweak the proposal to address community concerns and then bring it back.
Well, it’s back.
The updated proposal went to the RDEK’s Area A advisory planning commission last month and will, undoubtedly, make its way to the board eventually.
The plan is to create a 90-home large-lot subdivision on the Galloway Lands property, which is located between the Cedars and Fernie Alpine Resort. In case you missed it last time, the proposal received very stiff opposition.
But, we’ve had an election since then.
One thing is certain, had the City of Fernie election and the RDEK Area A election had gone differently last fall, we wouldn’t be here today. Former Mayor Ange Qualizza was probably the strongest opponent of Galloway Lands and Lee-Ann Walker, who was unsuccessful in her bid for the Area A seat, made no bones about her opposition during the campaign.
But … they didn’t win.
Area A director Thomas MacDonald, I suspect, will support the application. Fernie Mayor Nic Milligan, however, hasn’t tipped his hand yet on what the city’s position will be.
When Galloway Land withdrew their application last year, I suspected then they were hedging their bets and hoping the election would bring new, more favourable, faces to the table.
Time will tell whether that bet pays off.
Time will also tell what tweaks the proponents have come up with to alleviate community concerns. However, most of the opposition I see is that people don’t want a wonderful chunk of forest carved up.
I wasn’t one of the 43 people who tuned in, on Zoom, to the advisory planning commission meeting, so I don’t know the particulars.
In addition, as of writing this on Sunday, all the Galloway Lands website says is “coming soon.”
However, according to a local news report, Handshake Holdings says the new plan will:
Confirm its commitment to connect to community services, including sewer, water, and fire flow;
Confirm an option for alternate access to the property;
Confirm an option for ownership management of the park zoned lands;
Request revision to proposed zoning designations to accommodate a higher density;
Confirm its commitment to implement all recommendations identified in the B. A. Blackwell & Associates Ltd. report regarding fire safety.
Don’t think any of that will change the minds of those who simply don’t want another forest carved up for a subdivision. So it’s still going to be a tough sell.
The community will get a closer look this week as Galloway Lands will host two open houses at the Senior’s Activity Centre. The first is on Thursday, March 30, from 4-7 p.m. The second is on Saturday (no fooling), also from 4-7 p.m.
Take the time to check one of them out.
Bill Phillips is an award-winning columnist with 35 years of experience in community journalism.