While one resident may have visions of a new fourplex being built on his property, Port Edward council made it known they are not a fan of the idea.
The idea of a fourplex came in a report from chief administrative officer Bob Payette, who noted the proponent wanted to get a sense of support for the plan before moving into the official rezoning application phase.
The proposal initially provided somewhat of a divide amongst council, with Mayor Dave MacDonald and Coun. Dan Franzen expressing opposition.
“My own personal opinion is we need to hold off on the fourplex rezoning ... we just came out a year ago with a community plan people said they wanted and we already have several requests to rezone property,” said MacDonald, also noting the site of the development is in a single-family residential area.
“I’m not into fourplexes. It’s just too big of a building,” added Franzen.
Councillors Grant Moore and James Brown, however, were more receptive to the idea.
“I don’t see a downfall to these kind of buildings and I don’t know that it doesn’t fit into our community’s future vision ... the way I see it is this is more affordable housing,” said Brown.
“I look at it as a new build in the community, and any new construction is a positive for Port Edward,” added Moore.
In the end, council voted to express their opposition to the project with the understanding that the developer could still begin the official rezoning process for all of the public to have their say in supporting or rejecting the fourplex.