Residents of Île-des-Chênes were invited to an open house on Thursday, September 25 to discuss phase two of the Oak River Meadow development.

The meeting was hosted by Landmark Development and Design Inc. at the TC Energy Centre. The company was hired by Terracon Development Ltd. to research, plan, and engage the public in the process of site development.

Public meetings for phase one of the new residential neighbourhood located at the south end of town took place in spring 2022 and the plan was passed by RM council in September of that year.

In recent months, groundwork got underway for on the first phase’s 71 acres. The remaining 90 acres will complete the full development. This second phase was the subject of Thursday’s gathering.

Through a series of visual aids, attendees were introduced to a variety of concepts for the use of phase two lands, as well as information on the steps that will lead to its eventual development.

Landmark Planning staff were on hand to answer questions from the public.

According to Brennan Johnson, phase one has been solely dedicated to residential properties, with no designated commercial zones.

“Market considerations dictated that residential is what was needed rather than commercial,” Johnson says. “It’s [determined by] what was in demand at the time of the planning. Commercial demand wasn’t as high as it was for different housing types, so single-family and multi-family is what [was planned] for phase one.”

Commercial areas may be under consideration for phase two, but at this point there is nothing firm. No land is being specifically set aside for a school, at least at this stage.

“If there’s demand and interest in a school, and the province has expressed interest in having a school built, that’s usually when those conversations occur,” Johnson says.

These conversations generally begin with the local school division, which then pulls the province and a developer into the discussion.

All in all, Johnson says there have been few notable concerns shared by the public this time around. One of the primary issues that came out of the phase one public meetings was the need to create adequate sidewalk and pathway connections between the new development and the rest of the community.

Those concerns, he says, have been effectively addressed and he anticipates similar congruity for phase two.

“There are sidewalks, there are walking trails, and there are park spaces,” Johnson says. “And they are all designed in a way that connect to each other within this new neighbourhood and then to connections outside of it as well.”

As for housing options and ratios of single-family to multi-family units, Johnson says that will ultimately be up to Terracon to decide.

While the Macdonald-Ritchot Planning District has designated this particular section of land as a rural centre, it is still zoned as Agricultural Limited. One of the first steps in order for development to move forward will be to make a rezoning request of council.

The next steps will involve creating a concrete development plan utilizing feedback from the public and council, drawing from the concepts already presented at the open house.

Until then, residents are encouraged to provide feedback directly to Landmark Planning through an online comment sheet available on their website.

Sometime in November, Johnson says another stakeholder meeting will be called in order to present final plans to the public.