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Cranbrook, BC (December 11, 2023) – Council endorsed a petition process on Monday night to allow residents of the South Hill area of the City of Cranbrook to determine if new water and sanitary sewer connections should be built to connect their properties to the City’s water and sanitary sewer system through a Local Area Service (LAS) bylaw.

An LAS may be initiated either by owners of property in the proposed local area or by the municipal Council.  In this instance, the City is looking to establish a local area service to provide water and sanitary sewer service to only a segment of the municipality (South Hill), with all costs of the service paid for by the property owners within that area through a parcel tax.  The cost of this project is not borne by the general taxpayer.

The petition process is unique as it is a “petition against”.  Anyone against the project must vote; it is not a petition for the project.  If enough owners vote against the project, it will prevent the project from moving forward. This petition is only open to those owning property within the South Hill area highlighted in the map.

“This proposed Local Area Service, if it is constructed, will provide safe drinking water, reliable sewer, adequate fire flow along with safe fire hydrant spacing to this area of the community,” says Curtis Penson, Manager of Engineering and Field Services. “This will also provide the opportunity for owners to further develop their properties by subdividing or building which are not able to occur currently while this area of the community remains on wells and septic systems.” 

Residents and property owners in the South Hill area of the City will receive a notice package in the mail about the proposed water and sanitary sewer project and the LAS in the coming days. Those interested in submitting a vote against this proposed project must file their submission to the City of Cranbrook no later than 4:00pm MT on Monday, January 22, 2024.

To help property owners in the South Hill area understand the scope of the project, and learn about the LAS, you can visit www.cranbrook.ca/southhill.

Along with information about the LAS, maps and a Q&A section, a special feature is available which residents and property owners of the South Hill area may enter their address to find details on the impact this local area service bylaw will have on their parcel tax.

An open house has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at 6:00pm MT at the Manual Training School, 1212 2nd Street North.

The overall proposed timeline of this project should the LAS move ahead, the City would issue a request for proposals (RFP) for an engineering consultant to complete a detailed design in 2024. An invitation to tender for construction of the sanitary sewer work would be released in early 2025, with substantial project completion by the end of 2025 and the collection of the parcel tax beginning in the summer of 2026.