The home at 22 Summit Circle is being built on the former site of an old country-style chalet which was demolished in the late 1990s after being deemed unfit for habitation. The current owner agreed with the City to the creation of a buffer zone on the western edge of the L-shaped property so as not to disturb the character of the lookout.

The new house is being built in conformity with zoning regulations that safeguard the view from the mountain. The height of the new construction cannot exceed that of the original house.

A space with trees and greenery has been established as a setback between the lookout and the edge of the new house. The City was able to secure the concessions without having to compensate the owner because of a servitude obtained in 1989 spelling out restrictions to protect the lookout.

“There was a house there many years ago,� said Mayor Karin Marks. “The house was torn down and this person bought the land and bought the land adjacent to it and they submitted a project. We’ve been in a long-term plan with them on this.

“One of the things that we’ve done is we’ve established a 20-foot buffer between the lookout and this house where there will be trees maintained in order to try and diminish the impact,� she added.

While the property consists of two separate lots, the owner will not be able to build a second house because of a non-construction zone established by the City at the back. Like the height restriction, this provision is also meant to safeguard the view from the lookout. Since last year, the City has been carrying out a major refurbishment to improve safety and preserve the beauty of the summit lookout. Besides the infrastructure work, Marks said that trees there have also been posing a problem.

“We’ve lost the sense of a lookout because the trees have become overgrown,� she said. “There’s going to be thinning and removing of trees to return to its original purpose, which was the lookout and the park.�