Whitecourt town council has rejected an application from the Soaring Eagle Support Society, an assisted living facility for the unhoused, to rezone its location to a direct control zone.
Earlier this year, the town received notice that the original use of the society’s location at 3515 Caxton Street had changed. The town says the new operations did not comply with the existing zoning for that parcel.
As a result, the society applied to have its parcel rezoned from a Hilltop Commercial (C-7) zone to a new Direct Control Supportive Living (D-CS) zone. In July, the town held a public hearing on the potential rezoning.
At that public hearing, four individuals spoke in favour of the proposed amendment and eight spoke in opposition. A total of 136 written submissions were also received as part of the hearing, 60 of which were in favour, 74 of which were in opposition, and two were neutral.
In addition to community opposition, town officials expressed concerns about the location’s suitability for the society’s purposes, as it lacks proximity to grocery stores, medical care and social support services. As it is located in an area prioritized for highway commercial development, officials say it is also exposed to truck traffic, overnight lighting, commercial noise and other land use compatibility issues.
Approving the application also would have created a case of “pocket” zoning, in which one parcel’s approved land use differs from the parcels surrounding it. Town officials say these are generally discouraged.
The town says other locations within town are already zoned to accommodate the Soaring Eagle Support Society’s uses, and while social service availability is critical to the community, facilities must comply with zoning regulations.
The decision was made during council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 18.
We have reached out to the Soaring Eagle Support Society for comment on its next steps, but did not hear back as of yet. An update will be published when more information is available.
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