On Monday night, City of Cranbrook council adopted the Parnaby Road Construction Local Area Service (LAS) establishment bylaw and directed staff to forward Loan Authorization Bylaw (Parnaby Road Construction Local Area Service) No. 4264, 2026 to the Inspector of Municipalities for approval.

A Local Area Service is designed to benefit a specific neighbourhood or part of a community rather than the entire city and is also paid for by the residents or owners of the properties who will directly benefit. It is not paid for by the general city taxpayers.

The proposed project would reconstruct Parnaby Road and the connecting local road to Corral Boulevard to city standards. The planned work includes rebuilding and widening the road, adding streetlights, drainage, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, gravel shoulders, and a water meter, along with any related property and access work.

The project is estimated to cost approximately $6.54 million, including engineering, city administration, financing and a 50% contingency intended to reduce the risk of an unfunded cost overrun. The city could borrow the funds for up to 25 years.

The financing structure is intended to recover the project and borrowing costs from the six properties within the local service area through parcel taxes rather than from the general property tax base. Property owners may pay their share through a lump-sum payment or annual parcel-tax payments.

The obligation applies to the parcel whether or not development proceeds. Existing developed strata properties and the golf course would not be affected.

The Shadow Mountain development was started without all the required roads and services being completed or adequate security taken to complete them. The rationale for this Parnaby Road Construction LAS is similar in nature to the Shadow Mountain Sanitary Sewer Construction Local Area Service adopted in 2022.

In that case the sewer system should have been completed prior or as part of the first subdivisions at Shadow Mountain when house construction started, however, it was installed 10 years later under the LAS in 2022 to allow for development to continue and to build the required sewer service.

“Kudos to our staff for finding a way to get to yes, to help this development move ahead,” said Mayor Tom Shypitka. “Yes, $6.5 million is a lot of money, but the loan will be repaid by the property owners in that area who will benefit from the new road, not the general taxpayer. This initiative will enable new housing development on the east side of Shadow Mountain that otherwise may be delayed for many more years, and the city will gain a housing development in a very desirable new riverfront neighborhood.”

If the Inspector of Municipalities approves the Loan Authorization Bylaw and council subsequently adopts it, construction is planned to begin in 2027.

City of Cranbrook

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