Zone In Issue #2

March 11, 2022

Hello!

Welcome to the second edition of Zone In, our new bimonthly newsletter designed to provide a synopsis of upcoming agendas for Edmonton City Council public hearings on land development.

The next City Council public hearing is next Tuesday, March 15, and it’s a packed agenda! Read on for the summary.

THE ‘WHY’ BEHIND ZONE IN

What goes on at City Council public hearings is of interest to many of us, but we know that most people, most of the time, don’t have time to monitor public hearing agendas. For that reason, we created Zone In to make it easier to find out what’s going on at Council.

Our summaries focus on applications related to infill and urban redevelopment. Situate’s client files are highlighted in orange.

FEBRUARY 23, 2022 PUBLIC HEARING RECAP

First, a recap. The two notable infill files at the last public hearing on February 23 were Items 3.14 and 3.15 (dealt with together) and Item 3.17.

Item 3.14/3.15 was a rezoning application in the Boyle Street neighbourhood from the CNC (Neighbourhood Convenience Commercial) zone to the CB1 (Low Intensity Business) zone to allow for a moderate intensification of commercial uses on the site, and create the potential for future mixed use redevelopment. The item was passed unanimously by Council with no debate.

Item 3.17 was a rezoning application in Windsor Park from the RF1 (Single Detached Residential) zone to RF3 (Small Scale Infill Development) zone. A petition with eleven signatures in opposition to the application was submitted to the City Clerk before the hearing. The application was selected for debate. In addition to the applicant and the landowner, the community league and one of the neighbours spoke in support of the application, and no one spoke in opposition. The application was unanimously approved by Council.

MARCH 15, 2022 PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA OVERVIEW

Alright, let’s move on to the next public hearing! There are twenty four items on the March 15 public hearing agenda. One item is an administrative amendment, three items pertain to industrial land, seven items are in the developing area (new neighbourhoods), and thirteen items are in the redeveloping area (mature neighbourhoods).

Of the thirteen items in the redeveloping area, one is to allow more commercial uses in Historic West Ritchie, one would allow commercial buildings on a site between Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard, one is to close a portion of road and consolidate it with the adjacent parking lot in Cromdale, one is to close an alley in Malmo Plains to create a new shared use path, and one would rezone a medium industrial site in King Edward Park to the IB (industrial business) zone.

The five notable infill files are Item 3.2, Items 3.16 and 3.17 (to be dealt with together), Item 3.19, Items 3.21 and 3.22 (to be dealt with together), and Items 3.23 and 3.24 (to be dealt with together).

Item 3.2 is a rezoning application in Strathcona Junction (near the Queen Alexandra neighbourhood) to facilitate the full conversion of a hotel to a new supportive housing development operated by The Mustard Seed at 10333 – University Avenue NW. The application would rezone the site from DC1 (Direct Development Control Provision) to a new DC1 to allow additional units to be developed on the main floor of the building.

Item 3.16/3.17 is an application to rezone one lot in the Glenwood neighbourhood located half a block south of Stony Plain Road on 163 Street. Stony Plain Road is a primary corridor. The rezoning is from the RF1 (Single Detached Residential) zone to the CB1 (Low Intensity Business) zone, and requires an amendment to the Jasper Place Area Redevelopment Plan to change the site’s designation from “Multi-unit Housing” to “Commercial.” The CB1 zone would allow for commercial uses on the site, and the potential for mixed use redevelopment.

Item 3.19 is a rezoning application in Sherwood on a corner lot interior to the neighbourhood, three blocks west of 149 Street (a secondary corridor). The rezoning is from the RF1 (Single Detached Residential) zone to RF3 (Small Scale Infill Development) zone. The RF3 zone would allow for row housing in a neighbourhood that has very little small scale multi-unit housing.

Item 3.21/3.22 is a rezoning application in Griesbach at the intersection of 97 Street and 137 Avenue, two primary corridors. The rezoning is from the GVC (Griesbach Village Centre) zone to RA8g (Griesbach Medium Rise Apartment) zone to allow for two six-storey residential buildings. The proposed rezoning requires an amendment to the Griesbach Neighbourhood Area Structure Plan to allow medium-rise apartment development on the site and update statistics.

Finally, Item 3.23/3.24 is an application to rezone six lots in Oliver, just north of the Safeway (formerly Planet Organic) on Jasper Avenue and 122 Street. The site is located within the Centre City node. The rezoning is from a DC1 (Direct Development Control Provision) to DC2 (Site Specific Development Control Provision), and would allow for a six storey residential building with up to 100 units.

All of the notable infill files have support from City of Edmonton Administration and align with City Plan.

HOW TO SHOW SUPPORT

If you’d like to show your support for these projects, you can register to speak here or send a quick email to City Council at city.clerk@edmonton.ca with the subject line “SUPPORT re: Item #.##, March 15, 2022 Public Hearing” and body text along the lines of “I am an Edmontonian who supports the City Plan goals of creating a more livable, sustainable and compact city. For that reason I fully support the above referenced project.”

EPCOR WATER AND FIRE PROTECTION BLOG POST

Something we get asked a lot about at Situate is how to navigate EPCOR Water and Fire Rescue Services processes when it comes to water mains and hydrants. We’ve written an article to help explain these processes, check it out here.

THAT’S A WRAP!

Thank you for reading this far! We’d love to know what you thought and what we could do to make Zone In something you can’t wait to read; hit reply on this email and let us know.

Folks can subscribe to the newsletter or check out old editions on our webpage here. And of course, if you don’t want to receive emails from us, please unsubscribe anytime by using the link in the footer.