The Peace River Municipal Planning Commission met June 2, in part to decide on a proposed development of an Animal Care Facility in the downtown core at 9510-94 Avenue.
The facility proposed is the Peace Regional SPCA, a shelter designed to house, care, and adopt out animals. The facility will include spaces to accommodate daily operations, animal welfare needs, and staff activities.
“The property is zoned commercial residential,” says Peace River director of engineering and infrastructure Pat Fisher.
“Its immediate neighbours are our water station, CN, abandoned building that was Bell Centre, Contractor Service, Outreach School, and residential buildings.”
Fisher says some criteria that needed to be considered included noise, odour, cumulative effects of traffic and other factors, and compatibility with other uses.
“We do include in the Land-Use Bylaw (LUB) a requirement for notification of feedback for discretionary uses,” says Fisher.
“This is new in our Land-Use Bylaw, and the intent of adding it was to make sure that potentially affected residents were notified ahead of a decision.”
Fisher says the change was added to allow residents to be in a better position for not missing an important appeal window and to potentially allow affected residents to make their concerns known.
Through the application process, council heard many opinions in favour of the SPCA rebuilding in its old location. These included an increased activity benefitting businesses and increasing sense of safety, creating volunteer opportunities for students in nearby schools, and better outcomes for rescue animals in the location than in a purely industrial area.
Fisher added there were concerns about the rescue returning to the location, including noise from barking animals (two major projects have paved roads near the old SPCA location that can contribute to increased noise transmission), and concerns about increased traffic creating potential challenges with parking.
Peace River administration recommended the application be approved because the parking and landscaping variances were reasonable, there was evidence the applicant took the complaint concerns into consideration, and the intent of the LUB was satisfied by the applicant.
Peace Regional SPCA president Penny Steffen attended the meeting to present the development permit application.
“We are committed to creating a space that improves the quality of life for the animals in our care, while remaining mindful of our neighbours and aligning with council’s direction and expectations,” says Steffen.
Steffen’s presentation included the lengthy process the board went through to ensure engineers were consulted, their plans would be beneficial for the community and for their neighbours.
A complete video of the SPCA’s presentation can be found on YouTube, search Peace River and choose the MPC meeting on June 2.
The SPCA provides 14 jobs in the community, allows first job opportunities to students, supports local businesses, and provides volunteer opportunities. Steffen explained $291,000 had been invested to date by the SPCA in the proposed location, as well as an additional $63,000 by the Town, including asbestos removal, design and blueprints, engineering, powerline move, Telus line move, demolition, disconnection costs, delay of project expenses and various other incidentals.
A group of concerned residents also attended the meeting and presented a case against the development of the shelter. The public was also able to give their opinions on the impact, both positive and negative, that the SPCA had on the proposed area when the old shelter was there.
At the end of all presentations, the Municipal Planning Committee decided to approve the development application.
On its Facebook Page, Peace Regional SPCA offered a message: “This approval marks a major milestone not only for our organization but for the animals and communities we serve throughout the region.”
The new SPCA facility will be over 5,000 square feet with offices, lunchroom, separate dog and cat wings, an indoor parking area for their van, indoor/outdoor dog runs, laundry room, storage area, medical room and a multipurpose room that can be used for meetings. The shelter houses up to 20 dogs and up to 50 cats.
Development of the new facility cannot occur immediately as there is a mandatory 21-day appeal period following the approval decision, as per the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter