Multiple residents from Third Ave. S attended Melfort's council meeting on Aug. 12 to present their cases and find out if a six-plex on their street would be approved or not. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Defeated Six-Plex

Melfort council opposes six-plex unit following residents’ presentations

Aug 13, 2019 | 10:29 AM

A six-plex will not be built on the southside of Melfort.

Following an hour’s worth of presentations from six residents on Third Ave. South, Melfort city council unanimously voted against a potential six-plex multiunit built on the same street by Cobalt Bay Capital.

The first presenter during the Aug. 12 council meeting was Garry Carbno, a man who has lived in Melfort since 1979 and has spent nearly 20 years on Third Ave. S. His main concern – which was a theme from other presenters – was crime continuing to rise in the area if people lived in the 15×38 foot units.

“My arm reach is 74 inches from fingertip to fingertip,” Carbno said. “They’re six of my body lengths long. Who’s going to live there? You can’t put a family in there. You get six, eight, 10, 12 people packed in there like sardines and you don’t think there’s going to be trouble in the parking lot? We know from experience that you just can’t put people in situations like that to live in.

“It’s a social aspect of [poverty]. People are down and out already. If you have to go in a small area like that and the fact that drugs are there now, it’s going to be a place to gather.”

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Because the proposed six-plex from Cobalt Bay Capital didn’t meet the City of Melfort’s R2 Medium Density District requirements, it needed to go to council for discretionary approval.

Doug Terry was one of the councillors who thanked residents for their presentations and was impressed they were able to get organized and come together. He said Melfort council always intended to have housing on the 107 and 109 Third Ave. S. properties where Cobalt Bay Capital proposed its six-plex, so they head the proposal before the public hearing.

“It was never our intention to hide anything or cause stress to the neighbourhood,” Terry said. “It’s just a process that we went through. We want to see Melfort grow, but we certainly don’t want to do it and cause stress in a neighbourhood that doesn’t want to see it.”

Mayor Rick Lang wasn’t surprised to see a rare, high turnout of presenters during the delegation portion of the council meeting due to the impact it could have on residents. He believes the presentations guided some of the councillors’ vote, although his personal vote was decided on the use and potential of the properties themselves.

“I’m looking at more enhanced development with a higher taxable assessment and I believe that’s entirely possible,” Lang said. “At this point and time, there aren’t many R2 lots. To use them up for a multi-unit dwelling – which can go in many other areas of the city – just wasn’t realistic in my opinion.”

Lang said the minimal size for an R1 lot is around a minimal size of 1,200 square feet, which he said is more appropriate for a six-plex multiunit than the less readily available R2 lots which are better suited to hold smaller, more affordable homes.

Carbno said preventing multiplex units from being built on Third Ave. S. wasn’t the main point he and his neighbours attempted to make, but it was the kind of structure that was proposed.

On whether a multiplex unit in Melfort is still in the works, Lang said it’s necessary for Cobalt to go through the city’s economic development staff and put forward a different proposal that can be accepted.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow