Iqaluit eyes limited lot development in Apex

Some Apex residents want to see the City of Iqaluit open up a handful of surveyed lots to new development. But the city for several years has resisted allowing new development in areas that remain on trucked water and sewage service. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)

It’s time for Iqaluit to ease development restrictions that effectively ban the construction of new houses in Apex, according to one city councillor.

Coun. Mat Knickelbein said June 17 some Apex families now living in public housing and would like to build their own homes.

But they can’t because of a city moratorium on new construction in areas that require trucked water and sewer service.

“They have the ability to build their own house now and they’d like to get out of public housing, but they live in Apex. They don’t want to move to town,” Knickelbein said.

The city has been discouraging new growth in areas without utilidor service because of the cost and environmental footprint of trucked services.

People who already hold leases may build on their land, but the city isn’t surveying new lots in such areas.

Knickelbein said he’s not talking about allowing large-scale residential development, but said some Apex residents want to see the city allow infill development on some empty lots.

“Apex is never going to be large because it’s [limited by] physical space,” he said.

Arif Sayani, the city’s director of planning and lands, said the city owns eight to 10 surveyed lots in Apex, for which there are no leaseholders.

“I think council’s moratorium on residential development with trucked services was geared doing an entire [new] subdivision. In this case we’re only talking a few lots,” he said.

Sayani said he’ll study the lots to see what costs would be associated with development.

A key issue is whether the city’s public works department, which oversees trucked water and sewage service, could handle the extra demand.

The city’s long-term goal is to phase out trucked services, but extending utilidor everywhere in town is just too expensive right now.

Such a project would include not only the network of buried pipes, but also water booster stations and sewage lift stations.

“The trucks are already going out there,” he said. “Is an additional eight to 10 homes that much of a burden? Probably not.”

During its June 14 meeting, councillors approved a development permit for a leaseholder with a property near the old Hudson Bay buildings because there was once a building on the lot, which has since been demolished.