Willows residents upset about proposed changes to community

Some residents of Saskatoon's only golf course community are perturbed by a series of proposed changes to its second phase of development, saying it's not what they were led to believe would eventually be built.

The developer behind The Willows says the golf course has had “challenging” years, and the changes will include more amenities for residents while ensuring its long-term economic sustainability.

“We love it here. Any future development should fit into the way it is now,” said Glenn Stephenson, who moved into the area about 15 years ago believing the planned second stage of development would echo the first.

“Some people who don't live here would say, `Well, that's just some more NIMBY-ISM, just like any other development.'

“But I guess what we feel is (they are) changing the whole complexion of the community,” he continued.

Soledade Pedras, who was among the first to buy in the community, went further, characterizing the proposed changes not as an amendment to the original plan, but as an entirely new and drastically different plan.

“It's not acceptable,” she said. Dream Development always planned to build a second phase. The current neighbourhood concept plan, finalized in 2003, envisions single-family homes and low-density townhouses west of the existing neighbourhood.

The developer is now proposing to change that plan to include more properties, which would increase the second phase's planned population to 1,700 from 700, as well as a commercial development north of the clubhouse.

Dream's proposed changes, which would require city council's approval, also include traditional city-serviced lots, known as fee-simple lots, rather than the condominiums built in the first phase of development over the last two decades.

The course will be reduced to 18 holes from 27 to make way for the second phase of development.

Stephenson and Pedras both said they are particularly worried by a proposed $30-million, 120-room Scandinavian- or Nordic-style hotel and spa proposed for the commercial parcel, just north of the golf course clubhouse on Cartwright Street.

“You cannot plant a hotel in the middle of a community that has been around for 15 years,” said Pedras, who, like Stephenson, suspects the decision was made for financial reasons.

Coun. Mairien Loewen, who represents the neighbourhood, said she has received more than 100 pieces of correspondence on the issue, the “majority” of which reflect various concerns.

“I have heard from residents of The Willows virtually every day since late November on this issue,” she said.

Brad Zurevinski, Dream's general manager in Saskatoon, said living in a golf community is an

“organic experience,” and as the game and business of golf changes, so too must the communities built around courses.

“We're trying to evolve The Willows to make it an amenity-rich area … that really provides a lot of different opportunities for people that live there or are golf members. We really see that as adding value to the community,” he said.

Zurevinski noted the area's direct control district zoning means the developer has control over what is built in the commercial space, and that additional land means the second phase will not be more dense than the first.

The Willows was originally envisioned as a condo-only development, due to concern about “unforeseen” effects on the city's ability to provide services, Zurevinski said.

But those fears have since been put to rest, making fee-simple lots possible.

The developer is also committed to working to address residents' concerns, many of which involve the “common theme” of traffic through the neighbourhood, he said.

Pedras said traffic is among her most pressing concerns.

Loewen said concept plan amendments are not uncommon, and while Dream's request is in some ways comparable to previous examples, the “unique” features of The Willows make the details, such as fee-simple lots, different.

“This is a very complex request … We'll make sure it works through the process in the most fair and transparent way.”

Public consultations on the proposed changes began last month and are ongoing. Once that phase is complete, the proposal will head to the municipal planning commission and, finally, a council public hearing.