ICNA – Edmonton is the local chapter of the Islamic Circle of North America. ICNA is a grassroots organization that represents Muslim North Americans, welcoming a diversity of age, gender, and ethnicity.

Since 2019, ICNA – Edmonton has operated out of the Alfalah Center, a mosque and food bank with over 1,000 clients in Weinlos. In 2021, ICNA identified an opportunity to operate a small private school at the Alfalah Centre. The site was zoned RA7 (Low Rise Apartment) zone, which did not allow the building to be used for a school. 

Situate was hired as a planning consultant to conduct a zoning analysis for the site, and to manage the rezoning of the site to allow for the new school to operate. We wrote a custom direct control zone based on the RA7 zone, but with private education services added to the list of allowable uses. This approach preserved the development potential of the RA7 zone for the site in case ICNA chooses to redevelop it in the future. The project scope also included outreach to the surrounding community and Ward Councillor, and guiding the project through the City’s Infill Fire Protection Assessment (IFPA) process (see our blog post about navigating this process here).

Situate’s rezoning application was unanimously approved by Edmonton City Council on August 31, 2021 (see Item 3.11 in the meeting minutes). As a result, ICNA – Edmonton will be able to operate a private school that complements the many other services provided at the Alfalah Center.