Recently several residents of Winston Heights-Mountview have reached out with questions or concerns regarding a Land Use Amendment application on 27th Avenue at Edmonton Trail. This message provides information regarding this application and the Winston Heights-Mountview Community Association (WHMCA) response.
Background:
On August 9, 2018 the WHMCA’s Planning and Development Committee received a request for comment on LOC2018-0172, an application for a land use amendment at 407 27 Avenue NE from Multi-Residential – Contextual Low Profile (M-C1) to Mixed Use – Active Frontage (MU2). The Committee’s mandate is to provide comments on development permit (DP) or land use applications made by landowners to the City of Calgary (the City) on behalf of WHMCA in accordance with City by-laws, Winston Heights-Mountview Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP), and related City or WHMCA strategies or visions. The personal opinions of the committee members are kept at bay by reviewing each application with a focus on alignments to these documents which outline the benefits or impacts on the community at large.
On June 26, 2018 the Committee met with the developer hired by the landowner and discussed the proposed land-use redesignation. Some drawings from the developer showed an example of what a building on this site may look like if the application was approved by the City. The Committee could not consider this as a development because the proposed building is out of the scope of the land-use application being commented on.
WHMCA Feedback:
WHMCA supported the land-use change however DOES NOT support any development examples shown by the developer. It was noted to the City that we would require the applicant to host a Community Open House for any future developments on the property. The Committee communicated this feedback to the City on August 22, 2018.
Rationale:
In 2010, the request for more commercial spaces along Edmonton Trail was called for by residents as part of the Community Association’s Edmonton Trail 2035 vision, a project facilitated by the University of Calgary Faculty of Environmental Design and the Federation of Calgary Communities. The WHMV Area Re-development Plan (ARP) – which was developed in 2006 by residents and the City of Calgary, and approved by City Council – deems Edmonton Trail as “medium-density; to provide a diversity of housing stock” and “promote mixed use and denser development where appropriate.” In addition to the community vision initiatives, the City of Calgary has named Edmonton Trail as one of the “Main Streets”, to which MU-2 is the proposed zoning for these areas. MU-2 zoning did not exist at the time of the Edmonton Trail 2035 vision and ARP were developed. The CA planning committee believes MU-2 offers a good transition parameter to low-density, at the same time as adding services and retail into the community, versus MC-1 which would allow for similar development/height but without adding walkable services that would benefit community members.
Comments from WHMCA are only a portion of the engagement that can happen from a community perspective on an application. Individual residents of the community are encouraged to voice opinions on projects to our City Councillor and/or through the City of Calgary appeal process.
If you would like more information on how to get involved with the Planning & Development Committee, how to contact our City Councillor’s office, or about appeal processes, please contact planning@winstonheights.ca.