Plans have been proposed to revitalize the old Drayton Valley United Church.
The Church was originally built in 1957, the same year Drayton Valley was incorporated as a town. Sadly, the church was dissolved in 2018, and has been vacant ever since.
At their regular meeting Mar. 2, council received a request to have the property rezoned from residential to special services. The applicant hopes to reopen the building as a church, and primarily use it as a funeral home. When not in use as a funeral home, the applicant would like to use it as a wedding venue.
Town administration, however, identified several concerns. The first being its location. Town officials say funeral homes are usually zoned for commercial lots, and the church is in a residential area. But, administration further noted its not unusual for exemptions to be granted for facilities such as this.
The second concern, according to Town officials, is the lack of parking at the facility, which the applicant will eventually have to resolve.
Administration shared, they have already received two e-mails speaking out against the development.
Council voted to approve first reading of the rezoning proposal. It will now go to a public hearing on Mar. 23 at 9:00 a.m., where Town officials can collect more public input on the proposed development.
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