BRUCEDALE – A severance application has been submitted for an urban lot in old Rockwood.
Darrell and Kelly Parsons applied to sever their 850-square-metre lot at 123 Gzowski St.
The existing lot size is “standard for old Rockwood,” Mayor Chris White said during a council meeting on Feb. 20.
The proposed severed parcel would be 444 square metres with a 21-metre lot frontage, and the retained parcel would be 406 square metres with a frontage of about 19 metres.
The property owners plan to demolish the existing building on the retained parcel, and replace it with a new residential building.
Councillor Mark Bouwmeester asked if the owners had communicated what type of building they have planned for the retained parcel.
“I only ask because the entire neighbourhood is single family dwellings with no duplexes or anything.”
The application does not specify what kind of dwelling will be built.
Bouwmeester said his preference would be for only a single-family home to be considered, “in keeping with the character of the neighbourhood.”
“I totally support you,” White said. “This is an old single family dwelling residential neighbourhood and it’s got a specific character.
“While fully understanding the housing crisis we are in – and we are trying to work that with other things we are building and rentals and so forth – I think its incumbent to try to maintain the character of the neighbourhood.”
The land is zoned R1, or village residential low density, and councillor Corey Woods asked for clarification about what is allowed within that zoning. It permits detached homes, duplexes, semi-detached homes and group homes.
“So there’s a couple options there but it doesn’t seem like anything too crazy,” Woods said.
“That’s what the current rules allow for, so that’s what it is,” White said.
