As a resident of the area and frequent user of his favourite park’s off-road walking trails, when he saw the signs posted along Otway Road advertising a 28-acre parcel of land for sale along Moore’s Meadow Park, the alarm bells went off in Dennis Rudolph.
His immediate concern: what will happen to access to those hiking trails along the northernmost section of the park if and when a land sale brings a future residential subdivision?
“Basically I wondered if they’re planning a green belt just past the north end of the park so that those trails would be preserved and we could still get around those loops into the small valley where the swamp is,” said Rudolph. “There’s nice trails in there and lots of wildlife in there. I walk down there pretty much every day
“I just wondered if there is a plan yet and what the subdivision is going to look like. The sign just says it’s suitable for residential development. Maybe I’m alarmed about nothing and they’ve taken this into account. I would think accessibility to the park would be an asset to the subdivision and I would think they’re not going to place it off but I just don’t want to be walking through the park one day and find a big fence there.”
The $4.5 million listing is registered with RE/MAX Core Realty in Prince George. It states the land is zoned for single family residential (RS2) and multiple residential development (RM3 – usually strata development) with a greenbelt (AG) buffer between the housing development and Moore’s Meadow Park.
The 60-hectare dog-friendly park has a five-kilometre network of four loop trails that provide year-round access to a demonstration wilderness area. The valley and meadow that makes up the park is a kettle depression formed by retreating glaciers in the last ice age.
The land for sale includes a gravel pit off Otway Road and extends to the corner of Otway and Foothills Boulevard. Shawna Lynch of RE/MAX Core Realty has the listing and she says what happens to the property depends on what a prospective buyer has in mind.
Provided it meets with current zoning requirements any future development would not require city council approval.
“There is interest for sure,” said Lynch. “I would suggest that given the current zoning, that a buyer that is interested in that property is going to be aware of the zoning and probably buying for those purposes.”
According to city spokesperson Mike Kellett, the property, as it is currently zoned, can be subdivided in accordance with subdivision regulations for each zone. He said the greenbelt portion is not likely to be further subdivided.
“Should an owner/developer have a different vision to develop the site than what is permitted under the current zoning, then a rezoning process would be triggered,” said Kellett. “Rezoning land is a public process and would follow the public notification requirements set out in the Local Government Act, and the City of Prince George Development Procedures Bylaw.
“The trails that are currently located on this site are not “formal” or permanent trails – at least not as far as the zoning is concerned. However, pedestrian connectivity, both within a subdivision and to pedestrian networks outside of a subdivision, are considered and reviewed throughout the subdivision application process.”
