McTaggart stands in front of his Crediton property.
A Crediton commercial real estate owner, is currently petitioning the municipality of South Huron to rezone his property for residential use.
When Dean McTaggart purchased the property three years ago, he saw an opportunity,
The main obstacle hindering the property’s conversion to a residential unit is the parking requirement under the existing village commercial zoning regulations.
Because of these hurdles, he says that the residential dwelling on the main floor of the building is already complete, and sitting empty.
In the midst of the national housing crisis, McTaggart’s property is among a surplus of vacant commercial spaces in small towns.
McTaggart emphasizes the financial burden associated with developing new housing from scratch, and says that building new residential units can cost up to $300-400 per square foot, making it economically unfeasible to provide affordable rental options.
While McTaggart’s intentions are noble, he faces legal hurdles in the rezoning process. To proceed with his plan, he needs to obtain an easement on someone else’s property, which he views as an unethical approach.
McTaggart believes that the local municipalities should be more open to densification, and get more inventive with their solutions, given the increasing demand for housing in nearby areas.
McTaggart continues to petition council and the county to work with him to come up with a creative solution to allow the unit to be rented out.
Council will be discussing the matter at a public meeting on August 14th.
Written by: B. Shakyaver
