A developer on South Lakeside can now move ahead in building nine new homes on South Lakeside Drive.
Williams Lake city council voted to accept a proposed rezoning of the 6.78 acre property at 1749 South Lakeside Drive at their regular meeting on April 30.
The application for the rezoning was put forward by Cheridan Enterprises Ltd. (GL Constructon) to request city zoning for the property from acreage reserve to South Lakeside Residential zoning.
The property would be developed along with an adjacent lot into nine new residential lots which the developer hopes will be serviced by the city, though currently city services do not reach the proposed development. The council did not discuss extending city utilities to the proposed development.
Dan Gossen of GL Construction told the Tribune they purchased the lot last summer and have been busy working on a development design for the property.
“We would either build spec homes or have people come to us and we would design a home for them,” said Gossen. “We are very excited.”
In recent months, the lot has been cleared of trees.
All of the resulting logs were sold to Tolko and Tsideldel Enterprises arrived with its grinding machine last week to process the remaining woody debris and haul it away.
There is an old red barn on the site for sale.
Gossen and his sons Andrew and Ben Gossen have built several homes in the Russett Bluff area further down South Lakeside Drive and in Deer Park Terrace across from Terra Ridge and were on the lookout for a new area to build in.
Calling the new development Vista Estates, Gossen said each home will have a nice view of the lake.
A layout of the lots he provided the Tribune indicates six of the lots at the front will be smaller and three at the back will be much larger.
In a report for city council, planner Marie Whitehead noted the city is in receipt of a geotechnical report dated Nov. 21, 2023, prepared by Octo Engineering Ltd., from the applicant addressing the rock fall hazard and steep slopes. A wildfire assessment as of Nov. 10, 2023 addressing mitigation measures that will be required at the building permit stage has also been submitted.
Under the new provincial rules, a public hearing is not required so staff have followed the new rules and notified a 100-metre surrounding area of neighbouring properties by mail and placed a notice in the Tribune about the zoning amendment application.
Since notifying the public, the city received an inquiry about geotechnical stability in the area, to which Whitehead said the subject property is not located in an area of known geotechnical stability concerns.
Another query was about a fencing request, but neither the existing zoning or the proposed R-8 zone requires the properties be fenced.
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