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The units at 135 Kam Lake, up for discussion at Monday's committee meeting. The location is requesting an extension to its temporary housing permit. - Lauren McKeon/NNSL Photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A request for a one-year extension on temporary housing for construction workers at a Kam Lake Road property sparked questions about the overall purpose of the industrial area - and the definition of temporary - at Monday's council committee meeting.

Consisting of rows of trailers, the temporary lots have been in place since 2005. The request for the extension into 2009 was put to council's municipal services committee after the property owner, Arctic Holdings and Leasings, made a development permit application to replace the trailers with new ones.

"I had trouble wrapping my head around the temporary nature of this," said city councillor Bob Brooks, who added he would support the extension "this time."

If the temporary housing is approved for the year, it will be brought before council again after the year passes for another extension if the company wishes to maintain housing there - prompting some concern that "temporary" was more like "permanent."

"There doesn't seem to be any kind of sunset date," said Coun. Kevin Kennedy.

Kennedy questioned if a move to approve the housing would be "exactly opposite" of what council wants from the industrial zone. Council has an "obligation to not just rubber-stamp" the extension, he added, especially given the city's and resident's concerns over the development of Kam Lake. While city administration supported the year-long extension, it recommended a review of the industrial zoning at Kam Lake take place in its report to council.

"The continuing trend of approving conditionally permitted uses ... has contributed to this range of uses, and thus, it is slowly becoming unclear what the overall intent of the Kam Lake area is," wrote administration.

The continued permission to develop conflicting uses in the area will have a detrimental effect on the overall plans for the zone, it added.

For many of those same reasons, Coun. David Wind announced he would not support the extension when the matter is moved to next Monday night's council meeting.

"It's entirely inappropriate and we should put a stop to it," he said.

Council is being "pretty wishy-washy" if it continues to put off zoning decisions until the next year, he added.

But not all councillors were against the extension.

"There are hundreds of people who live out in Kam Lake ... are we going to attempt to relocated these people," asked Coun. Mark Heyck.

"It's not ideal," he added of the housing location, which he said is needed to attract construction workers to the North. "But the world is not a perfect place."