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East Hill property for sale

$10 million sought for Summit West lands that were the subject of 2009’s boundary expansion referendum in Cranbrook
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A map of the 2

The property to the east of Cranbrook that was the subject of a 2009 referendum is for sale.

The City of Cranbrook held a referendum in 2009 seeking residents' permission to expand the city's boundaries to include the Summit West property on Cranbrook's east hill.

Now the 2,400 acre property is for sale with a $10 million asking price.

Real estate broker Shawn Hansen of Hansen Land Company, a High River, Alberta based firm, said the previous owners feel the time is right to sell the property.

"It's a group of fellows who own it, and they own other businesses and companies. They just feel that it's time to dispose of the lands. The timing is right for their group," said Hansen.

He said that the economic climate has improved since the property was last up for re-zoning at the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) board of directors in December 2011.

"There was an application made several years ago that didn't get completed. The owners have indicated to me that the timing is different and better now," said Hansen.

A rezoning application by Summit West received first reading at the RDEK board in October 2011.

The application was for the first two phases of the project, which would have created 78 lots for single family dwellings.

Principal owner Sheldon Isaman presented the proposal to the board.

“I respected the democratic process and results that indicated that the City of Cranbrook did not want to have jurisdiction over these lands and since then we have been working with regional district staff, the public, and professional consultants to further refine the development proposal. The result is what you see before you today,” said Isaman in 2011.

However, Interior Health lodged a negative review of the proposal in December 2011.

“This proposal creates a type of urban sprawl which is associated with negative public health outcomes. Research has shown the negative impact of urban sprawl on physical activity opportunities. Physical inactivity often leads to obesity which is directly related to chronic diseases such as: type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers,” wrote Pam Moore, who works for Interior Health out of Kelowna.

“Interior Health endorses the concept that the built environment influences transportation choices and by association, population health. This proposal specifically … is too remote from any transit route for transit to be a viable option, is too remote from any amenities such as schools or food stores to encourage physical activities such as walking or cycling, (and) its remote location depends on vehicle use and will result in increased vehicle emissions.”

The board, which had been newly elected in November 2011, voted 11 to 4 in favour of referring the application back to staff to continue working with the developer.

The 2,400 acre property is located east of Cranbrook, between the Community Forest and Highway 3 in Mayook.

In November 2009, Cranbrook headed to the polls to vote on whether the city’s boundaries should be expanded to include the Summit West property on the East Hill. The contentious referendum came down with 2,616 votes opposed to the expansion, and 2,581 votes in favour.