Volunteers needed, please email: volunteers@winstonheights.ca

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.

Building up to the 2018-19 Rink Season

 It appears Mother Nature is building us up for a great winter season, and that means skating outdoors at the WHMCA!  To get there, we are looking for volunteers to help with the initial flooding and regular maintenance of the ice rink.  This work includes using the snowblowers and snow sweeper to clear the ice, and then flooding with a fire hose from the North Hall.  Usually this is done in a team of 2-3 people.

We are also looking for a new rink committee chair for this year.  The chair sets the schedule of when rink construction and flooding is to occur, and co-ordinates volunteers for this work.  The chair is also a liaison to the WHMCA board and reports to it monthly.

If you are interested in becoming the rink committee chair, or wish to volunteer to help with the rink in any capacity, please email: volunteers@winstonheights.ca.

There are various other positions available on the rink committee as well: Rink Committee

Rink Boards

As announced at the WHMCA Annual General Meeting in May, the rink boards have seen their last winter.  Even though they were marine-grade 3/4 inch plywood, the years and decades of use had left them in rough shape.  There were holes as large as grapefruit in several of them and the rest were in poor shape.  They were all sent to the great ice rink in the sky during the community cleanup in September.

The Rink Rejuvenation subcommittee was started last year to address replacement of the boards.  Unfortunately, due to sporadic response from board vendors, and the subcommittee chair having a hard impact on some ice himself, progress has been slower than expected.

The result is that we will be building a rink this winter without boards.  We hope you will enjoy the pond ice experience!  As a consequence, hockey will be limited without the presence of boards or fencing.

The goal of the Rink Rejuvenation subcommittee is to have new boards ready for the winter of 2019-20.  The new boards will be removable, so we can continue the tradition of an open green space every summer.  We are also considering regarding the site to make it level and easier to flood.

If you are interested in helping with the rejuvenation project, please call Alex Reed at 587-582-5342 or email reedalex@hotmail.com.

Fund Raising Bake Sale!!

At this years Santa’s Breakfast and Market all the proceeds from the Bake Sale will be donated toward the new rink boards!!  Please see link for more details and to volunteer or donate:
Santa’s Breakfast and Market

TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS!

Come on out to the Winston Heights-Mountview Community Centre for Tuesday & Thursday morning Yoga classes starting at 9:30 a.m. The cost is only $5/person. This class is open to people of all abilities so come on out and meet some neighbours while enjoying a wonderful yoga class at the same time.

If you like these classes and would like to see them continue…we need your feedback!! Please send an e-mail to communications@winstonheights.ca or call 403-276-5474 to let us know what you think. Programs like these are offered based on community participation and response. If you think they are going great, or you have suggestions for future classes, or you just have something you think we should know, drop us an e-mail or give us a call.

Senior Spotlight!

We are looking for some fresh new content for our newsletter!  We want to put the spotlight on the amazing seniors in our community!  Tell us about your selves or tell us about your neighbours!  Please email us: communications@winstonheights.ca

The ENMAX My Energy IQ Community Challenge

You can help Winston Heights-Mountview win $1,000, with ENMAX Energy’s Community Challenge. And
you can learn how your home uses energy. See enmax.com/challenge for details.

TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS!

Come on out to the Winston Heights-Mountview Community Centre for Tuesday & Thursday morning Yoga classes starting at 9:30 a.m. The cost is only $5/person. This class is open to people of all abilities so come on out and meet some neighbours while enjoying a wonderful yoga class at the same time.

If you like these classes and would like to see them continue…we need your feedback!! Please send an e-mail to communications@winstonheights.ca or call 403-276-5474 to let us know what you think. Programs like these are offered based on community participation and response. If you think they are going great, or you have suggestions for future classes, or you just have something you think we should know, drop us an e-mail or give us a call.

The free Calgary skateboarding program opens today at the Winston Height-Mountview Community Hall.

Visit the mobile skate park web page for more details.

Hours as follows:

• Thursday & Friday: 3pm – 7pm (June 28-29^th) Closed July 2^nd for Canada Day.
• Monday – Friday: 11am – 7pm (July 3 – July 19^th)
• Saturday and Sundays: 10am – 6pm

Please note when lessons are scheduled staff will be in the park an hour before opening.

Reminder this is a free drop in program and all are encouraged to participate with their own skateboard, scooter or inline skates.  Waivers and helmets are mandatory, waivers can be picked up at the park.  We have a few loaner boards and helmets but they are on a first come first serve basis.

We have secured a truck for this evening – around 7:30pm – and are looking for a few volunteers to help move rink boards.  This issue is that we need a few strong people to assist in loading and unloading the boards.

We know it is last minute, however, many hands can make quick work of this!  Please email volunteers@winsontheights.ca to let us know if you can help.

Thank you