(rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman

Application Denied

Council extinguishes insurance office plan for former fire hall

Jun 22, 2020 | 6:24 PM

Plans to turn the former fire hall building in Deer Park into an insurance company office have been snuffed out by Red Deer city council.

Council voted down a rezoning application on Monday for the building located at 39 Street and Davison Drive.

The decision was made following a public hearing on Monday, and after council gave second and third readings to a bylaw amendment proposing the site exception change.

Although the application for the rezoning originally contained plans for a potential restaurant or coffee shop in addition to the insurance broker’s office, City staff noted in their report to council that nearby residents were opposed to the idea.

Officials say the applicant’s company has 10 employees and receives between two and four onsite visits from clients per day. The company’s busy season is said to be from September to November and would possibly see increased onsite visits during those months from four to 10 client’s per day on weekdays.

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Council was split on the proposed use for the site, with four members voting in favour of the application and five voting against.

Councillor Buck Buchanan cited traffic safety concerns in voting no. Councillor Frank Wong felt office-type businesses should be located downtown.

Councillor Lawrence Lee, meantime, feels the lot should revert to residential as originally intended.

“We need to support our commercial endeavors. However, it was just too much to insert commercial property in the midst of so much residential,” said Lee.

Councillor Dianne Wyntjes had similar sentiments.

“I take myself back to when people bought in that area and realized there was going to be a fire hall there. They adjusted, they lived with it, and otherwise it would have been residential zoning,” she explained. “But I also think about when the fire hall was sold, what those people were thinking, that it would return to the commitment that the City had said in the initial planning of residential and that it would return there. I’m on the side that we stick to our intent as a City.”

Councillor Ken Johnston was among those who supported the proposal, noting the intent on the applicant’s behalf to pay tribute to the building’s former use as a fire hall.

Mayor Tara Veer was also in support, saying council has to find favour with an application for the site at some point.

“My concern is if another applicant comes forward, that applicant may not be as amenable to the limited scope of zoning minimizing the impact of the use,” explained Veer. “The fact that we’ve already had a number of proposals come forward and that we’ve reduced the zonings as much as possible to respond to neighbourhood concerns around traffic and fears for future zonings, I think that this is probably the best case scenario given the realities that we’re probably facing with the economy and the fact that council will at some point have to approve a zoning in order for this site not to just remain vacant and to run into decay in future years.”

Currently zoned residential, City officials say the former fire hall site could be converted to residential units, or be torn down to accommodate the construction of five residential lots.