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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A final decision on a controversial apartment expansion is not expected for another six weeks as the city's development appeal board weighs the project's benefits versus the opposition to it.

Residents near a proposed development expansion on Con Road have been up in arms since it was first announced last spring. Here Mayor Gord Van Tighem meets with angry homeowners in May.

Residents from around the area of the proposed Northern Property (NPR) Con Road housing project made one last appeal to quash plans from Yellowknife's largest landlord Friday night to build a 28-unit apartment block and five six-plexes next to its Shaganappy and Ptarmigan apartment complexes.

Complaints heard during the marathon five-hour development appeal board hearing include worries that new buildings will overshadow the sun, add traffic, lower property values, and attract further drunkenness, public fights, noise from emergency vehicles, and more litter in the neighborhood.

Jennifer Jennifer Whitaker, a homeowner on Rycon Drive, argued residents had good reason to fear the project because NPR had admitted in previous meetings that its primary accountability is to its shareholders.

"That is certainly not affordable housing," she said. "It is not a co-operative or a situation that might help people feel they are part of the community and contribute to the space around them. Where is the pride and sense of community in that?"

Luke Ootes, a resident on 53 Street, said while the height and size of the buildings may meet code, it's inevitable that some neighbours will be in the shade more often.

"A number of homes will be extinguished from sunlight most if not all afternoon variably from October to March," said Ootes.

About 10 residents made vocal appeals to the board to reject the plan, based on their own personal circumstances.

City planner Devin Lake said the city has tried to address the concerns of residents as much as possible over the past year, including a sun shadow and neighborhood impact study, while ensuring additional buffers would be placed around the property, including fencing and privacy screeninng.

"Anything I could do I absolutely did," he said of revisions to NPR's original plans.

But he acknowledged there will be an impact on the neighbourhood.

"We understand that the winter sun is very low and that any form of development would have an adverse impact," said Lake.

"So with everything considered, including with legislation and this study that we have done, I deem that the proposed development does not impose excessive shadowing on surrounding properties."

The hearing was presided over by chair Blair Barbour, city councillor Shelagh Montgomery, Margaret Kralt, Trish McFaul, and Kevin McCormick. NPR construction manager Bo Rasmussen was also present and made a brief presentation before coming under fire from the appellants.

Rasmussen said the project will be a family-friendly environment, with bike racks, a community garden and a nearby dog park. The development will be heated with a wood pellet boiler heating and will help address housing needs in the city.

"There is currently a lack of housing in Yellowknife," he said, referencing a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report that suggested vacancy rates have dropped from to 0.8 from 1. 3 per cent over the last year.

"This is unheard of in the Canadian housing industry. This project will add an additional 58 much needed housing units into the Yellowknife market."

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