On April 16, Ritchot’s council approved a request from the St. Adolphe Land Company Ltd. (SALCO) for a variation to reduce the size of lots and side yards in phase two of the Tourond Creek development.

The request allows developers to reduce the size of 63 lots from 50-foot to 40-foot widths. At the same time, these lots would have their side yard clearances changed from five feet to four feet.

Corner lots, too, would see a side yard reduction from eight feet to five feet.

All in all, 108 single family lots would be sketched into the phase two plan, creating 19 more lots than were proposed to council three years ago. These lots would range in width from 40 feet to 58 feet.

Brandon Powell appeared at the meeting to speak on SALCO’s behalf. He told council that the development has had virtually no lot sales or new home builds in the past three years.

To substantiate that, he reported that there are still about 85 lots in phase one that have yet to be sold.

He blames this inertia on a change in market demand due to uncertainty in interest rates and the fact that building and development costs have escalated.

Now, with the disruption of tariffs, it’s anyone’s guess as to how the market will change going forward.

“Buyers are being more cost-conscious because of all this, and the market is seeking more affordable housing options,” Powell said. “The developer really has a limited toolbox.”

After months of discussions with their builders, Powell said they’ve concluded that downsized lots can be sold for lower prices, thus addressing the affordability issue.

According to Powell, early projections made by SALCO’s engineers suggest a cost savings of between $37,000 and $60,000 on the lot alone. The homebuyer should see further savings through the build since 40-foot lots would only accommodate a 32-foot-wide house.

To further his argument, Powell reminded council that they had recently approved a similar request made by Terracon for a new development in Île-des-Chênes, setting a precedent.

“The risk of not proceeding [means] that the pace of development in Tourond Creek will continue to be slow,” Powell said. “The developer is not prepared to proceed with the existing subdivision under the current circumstances. They don’t want to risk putting millions of dollars into the ground if all they’re doing is developing more of the same thing that just isn’t selling. St. Adolphe will continue to see limited growth and investment as a result.”

Five letters favouring the variation request were received by council prior to the meeting, all from builders in the development.

Another eight letters were received from people who stand opposed.

One Tourond Creek resident attended the meeting, asking council to reconsider the four-foot side yard variation request, citing fire safety.

“You’ve probably never lived in a community where you’ve had a whole block of homes burn down because of that four-foot [side yard] concern,” he said. “Well, my brother has, in Calgary, and Calgary made a huge change after that.”

This resident later visited a subdivision in Saskatchewan where, he said, this issue was addressed by legislating the use of additional fire-retardant building materials in order to prevent a fire’s spread.

“What it costs [to build like this] outstrips the savings of buying a [smaller] lot,” he told council. “Just because a building code might say that [something] is adequate, it’s not. There are communities out there who are making sure that their neighbourhoods are safe.”

Three other residents weighed into the conversation online. One argued that reducing the side yards to four feet would make it virtually impossible for landscapers to access back yards with their equipment.

Another questioned whether the developer had tried other strategies to help move the lots in Tourond Creek, such as better marketing or price reductions.

As council entered their own deliberation, Councillor Jason Bodnarchuk indicated that he’d heard from a number of residents who shared concerns about the four-foot side yards, primarily in terms of breaking the aesthetic continuity with the rest of the development.

Still, Bodnarchuk expressed sympathy with the developer needing to make changes to meet market demand.

“Most are aware that, if something doesn’t change, there’s a good chance that the development is going to go dead,” Bodnarchuk said. “Also, we’re trying to bring commercial and stuff here, and one of the big [ways to] bring commercial here is bring people here.”

Mayor Chris Ewen queried whether it would be reasonable to inquire with the RM’s fire chief regarding the added fire hazard produced by four-foot side yards.

“Building codes are written to a manner that it is allowed to have the four-foot side yard,” CAO Mitch Duval responded.

“They’ve spent a lot of money in this community to get this off the ground, to have it stalled,” said Councillor Shane Pelletier. “I’m good with trying to give this a boost and start seeing some more [building] permits on our reports.”

In the end, Ewen agreed.

“I don’t want to see this development go into hibernation, because once that [happens] the residents that live there, their home valuation is going to go down,” Ewen said. “As a past real estate broker, I’ve seen this happen.”

Council’s debate closed with a vote of four in favour of approving the variation request. Councillor Boulanger stood opposed.