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90 more lots zoned for Whistle Bend

The zoning for Phase 7 passed its final readings
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Shrubbery and housing construction surround the Whistle Bend entrance sign in Whitehorse on July 17, 2018. Whitehorse city council formally approved zoning for the final planned stage of the Whistle Bend neighbourhood at its July 22 meeting. (Crystal Schick/Yukon News file)

Whitehorse city council formally approved zoning for the final planned stage of the Whistle Bend neighbourhood at its July 22 meeting.

Council members voted in favour of second and third readings of the bylaw that will allow for 90 residential lots zoned for larger single detached and duplex homes.

Coun. Steve Roddick highlighted the role opening lots could have in helping alleviate the pressure on housing in the city.

He said he does not want the opening of lots to be the sole focus of the city to deal with the housing issue. Development incentives, zoning changes and regulatory tools were among the additional tools he named to address the matter.

“Balanced growth in housing supply can not be achieved solely by increasing supply,” he said. “Even the staunchest advocates of supply-driven policy acknowledge that additional government intervention is critical to ensuring that economically-diverse housing stock is available for communities.”

Along with the 90 residential lots, Phase 7 of Whistle Bend will also feature a large greenbelt placed over the sewer main.

A defining feature of the area, the neighborhood’s perimeter trail will also continue through Phase 7.

Actual development is still four years away. Those lots aren’t expected to hit the market until 2023.

The next lottery for Whistle Bend lots is scheduled to happen later in July or in August for about 200 lots in the final part of Phase 3 and a portion of Phase 4 with another lottery for an additional 200 Phase 4 lots expected in September or October.

Officials with the Yukon government, which is the developer of the neighbourhood, have also indicated a commercial lot release in Whistle Bend will happen in the next year.

Phases 5 and 6 will be developed with those lots available over the next two years. Phase 7 will come after that.

While Phase 7 represents the last phase of planned development for Whistle Bend, officials with the Yukon government, city and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council (which has settlement land in the area) are working on future plans for the few remaining portions of the neighbourhood not yet planned.

The city is also in the midst of drafting a new Official Community Plan, which will explore the next site for major development in Whitehorse after Whistle Bend is built out.

Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com



Stephanie Waddell

About the Author: Stephanie Waddell

I joined Black Press in 2019 as a reporter for the Yukon News, becoming editor in February 2023.
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