Homeowner withdraws application to close lane after public hearing

Cold Lake, AB – A request for lane closure and land sale near Lakeshore Drive was withdrawn after a public hearing for the lane closure was held on February 24.

“There is a prescribed process that municipalities need to follow for requests such as this,” said Mayor Bob Mattice. “There are specific steps we need to take as a municipality before we can make changes to areas dedicated for lanes, roads, and alleys. These steps ensure that affected residents have their concerns heard and that decisions are not made until after people have had a chance to have their say.”

The applicant for the lane closure expressed interest in purchasing a portion of the lane adjacent to his property, which connects 10 Street to the alley running behind the homes on Lakeshore Drive. The applicant noted that the purchase would allow for flexibility in the development of the applicant’s lot, given the house’s proximity to the existing property lines. 

To facilitate the homeowner’s request, a bylaw would be needed to enable the closure of the lane and proceed with the sale of the property. As part of the bylaw process, a public hearing was held on February 24 after a draft bylaw was given first reading by council at an earlier meeting.

Several residents of the area came to the public hearing and expressed concerns about their ability to access the alley should the lane be closed, especially since Lakeshore Drive has become a one-way street. After listening to other residents’ concerns, the applicant had noted that he now intended to withdraw his current application. He further stated that he may put forward a new application with a modified request.

Following the public hearing, the City of Cold Lake can confirm that the applicant has  withdrawn his request for a full closure of the lane. Since the request was no longer active, council defeated the motion for the bylaw’s second reading, thus ending the process.

The City of Cold Lake has not received a new application regarding the lane as of yet. Should the city receive such an application, the process would start from the beginning, and would require that affected property owners be notified of the request, and would also require a public hearing to be held after a draft bylaw’s first reading. 

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