Six-unit First Avenue townhouse proposal heads to Rossland public hearing
The City of Rossland coat of arms.
Photo credit: City of Rossland
ROSSLAND — A proposal to rezone a First Avenue property for a six-unit townhouse development will go before a public hearing Monday, with final approval of the project’s zoning still requiring later council votes.
Zoning Amendment Bylaw 2871 would change 2025 First Avenue from R-2 Medium Density Residential to R-DT Downtown Residential. City documents say the rezoning is being sought to allow construction of six townhouse units on the property.
Rossland council gave the bylaw first reading Aug. 10 and second reading Sept. 8. When it advanced the application, council made the rezoning subject to the applicant paying all costs associated with infrastructure upgrades or removals required to service the development to the City’s satisfaction.
The publicly accessible council records do not specify what servicing work or infrastructure changes may be required.
The public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 5 in Rossland council chambers. Residents will have an opportunity to speak to the proposed zoning change, and the deputy corporate officer is expected to report any correspondence or petitions received before the hearing.
The hearing does not constitute final approval. Bylaw 2871 is not listed on the Oct. 5 regular council agenda for third reading or adoption, and the current draft bylaw leaves both of those dates blank. If council decides to continue with the rezoning after the hearing, those steps would follow separately.
The proposal comes as Rossland continues to plan for additional housing over the next two decades. The City’s 2025 Housing Needs Assessment identified a need for 186 additional housing units by 2026 and 623 by 2041.
That assessment identified medium-density housing, including row homes, among the housing forms needed as Rossland grows. The six-unit First Avenue project would add that type of housing, although the City documents reviewed for the application do not identify the proposed units as affordable or rental housing.
Rossland has also been updating its zoning framework in response to provincial housing legislation and the community’s longer-term housing needs. The City has said its zoning work is intended to align development regulations with its Official Community Plan and the housing supply identified through its housing-needs assessment.
The detailed staff-report attachment for the First Avenue application was not accessible through the City’s online meeting system during a Boundary Sentinel review. As a result, information including the parcel’s numerical density, proposed parking configuration and specific servicing requirements was not independently available from the City’s published records.
The applicant or developer is also not named in the public hearing notice, draft bylaw or accessible council records reviewed by the Sentinel.
Council can consider whether to advance Bylaw 2871 after the public hearing. Third reading and adoption, if the rezoning proceeds, would be separate decisions.
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