By Steve Hubrecht
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Invermere council unanimously rezoned the large open lot immediately south of Eileen Madson Primary (EMP) school last week, paving the way for future expansion of the school.
The expansive empty space was once slated for multi-family, high density residential development, but the real estate crash of 2007 and 2008 put those plans on ice and the property has been a quaint, grassy field ever since.
Local Rocky Mountain School District Six purchased the land last year, at the time outlining its plans to use it as a spot into which the school could grow. At its Tuesday, June 28 meeting, Invermere council voted to change the zoning on the lot from residential to public institutional.
The zoning change is being requested in order to “support the projected need for future school and childcare facilities within Invermere” explained Invermere planner Rory Hromadnik, alluding to the announcement earlier this past winter that responsibility for the provincial government’s $10-a-day daycare had been moved to Ministry of Education (which was then renamed the Ministry of Education and Childcare).
“They know what they want to do with the property,” said Hromadnik. “They have a neat vision.”
“Obviously there is still a lot of work to do,” said Invermere mayor Al Miller. “They can see we’re a growing community, they can see the needs that may lie ahead and they’re being proactive. It’s very positive.”
Invermere councillor Gerry Taft added that the rezoning makes sense, given that Invermere’s population soared during the last census, and that EMP already appears to be at or near capacity, but he did raise a small caveat.
“I want to be completely clear that I’m 100 per cent in support of this rezoning, and this use of the land,” said Taft. “But, from a big picture perspective, when need to be aware that this land was going to be high density residential, and now it will be removed from Invermere’s housing stock. In this case I think it’s a worthy tradeoff. A very worthy tradeoff. But we need to keep in mind that it may apply pressure for boundary expansion or for taking land out of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in the future.”
“It is a limiting factor,” agreed councillor Greg Anderson. “But EMP is getting topped up. We might have families reject our community because they can’t get their kids into school. Or because they perceive the schools as less than top quality education because they are overcrowded.”
Taft parried back that “it is the same with early childhood care. We already have people leaving here or choosing not to move here in the first place because there’s not enough childcare spots. We also have people leaving here or choosing not to move here because there’s not enough housing. It’s all interrelated.”
In response Anderson noted that the land being rezoned is very flat which makes it “perfect for a school” and added “you can built homes on hills or on just about anything, if you have to. But not schools.” He also pointed out that the land being rezoned is literally right next door to EMP, which makes the decision a no-brainer.
