Zone In: May 10 Public Hearing + New Post on Standard vs. Direct Control Zones

Hello!

We’re back for another edition of Zone In, Situate’s summary of Edmonton City Council public hearing agendas.

The next City Council public hearing is tomorrow-Tuesday, May 10. Read on for the summary of what’s on the agenda (and what Council approved at the last hearing on April 20).

THE ‘WHY’ BEHIND ZONE IN

We all want to know what Council’s talking about, but few of us have the time to listen in day in and day out. For that reason, we created Zone In to make it easier to find out what’s going on at City Council public hearings, and easier to show your support for good applications (because let’s face it, it’s usually not the supporters who speak up). Our summaries focus on applications related to infill and urban redevelopment.

APRIL 20, 2022 PUBLIC HEARING RECAP

First, let’s recap what happened at the April 20 public hearing. The five notable infill files were Items 3.16 and 3.17 (dealt with together), Item 3.18, and Items 3.19 and 3.20 (dealt with together).

Item 3.16/3.17 was a rezoning application in Cloverdale on a 1,076 square metre site on the corner of 98 Avenue (an arterial road), and 95 Street. The application was submitted by Next Architecture on behalf of a private landowner to rezone the site from the CNC (neighbourhood convenience commercial) zone to the RA7 (low rise apartment) zone. The RA7 zone would allow for a four storey multi-unit residential building. The rezoning required an amendment to the Cloverdale Area Redevelopment Plan to redesignate the site from commercial to residential. Councillor Salvador asked the applicant about their intent regarding commercial uses, noting a lack of commercial opportunities in the neighbourhood. The applicant stated that they haven’t determined whether commercial uses will be provided yet. The item was passed unanimously by Council.

Item 3.18 was an application in Oliver for a 1,679 square metre site on 102 Avenue and 121 Street, submitted by Open Sky Developments. The application proposes to rezone the site from a DC2 (site specific development control provision) to a new DC2 that would increase the maximum height of the already approved mixed-use tower from 17 to 22 storeys. Oliver is identified by City Plan as part of the Centre City node, which is envisioned as Edmonton’s highest density area. The item wasn’t selected for debate and was passed unanimously by Council.

Lastly, Item 3.19/3.20 was an application Downtown, submitted by Stantec on behalf of Limak Investments Inc. to rezone the historic Horne and Pitfield site from the (HA) Heritage Area Zone to a (DC1) Direct Development Control Provision. The DC1 would enable the development of a mixed-use tower while preserving two facades of the historic building. This application had previously been to public hearing on September 8, 2021 and was referred back to Administration to work with the applicant to protect more of the existing building. The revised application required the preservation and historic designation of the west and south building facades. Councillor Wright selected the item to ask Administration about public engagement, whether there was a sunset clause built into the DC2 (there is), and whether other buildings in the Warehouse District will be similarly preserved. The application was approved unanimously by City Council.

There were no speakers in opposition to any of the items at the public hearing.

MAY 10, 2022 PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA OVERVIEW

The May 10 public hearing agenda is another big one, with a total of 25 items and a lot of infill applications. Five items pertain to industrial land, eight items are in the developing area (new neighbourhoods), and twelve items are in the redeveloping area (mature neighbourhoods). One of the items in the redeveloping area is to allow for the expansion of NAIT’s main campus, and another is a DC2 to CB2 rezoning to allow for cannabis sales in Glenwood; these items are not profiled below.

The notable infill files are Items 3.12 and 3.13 (to be dealt with together), Item 3.14, Item 3.15, Items 3.17, 3.18, and 3.19 (to be dealt with together), Item 3.22, and Items 3.23 and 3.24 (to be dealt with together).

Item 3.12/3.13 is a rezoning application in West Jasper Place on a 1,374 square metre site on 153 Street just south of Stony Plain Road-a primary corridor. The application was submitted by SPAN Architecture on behalf of a private landowner to rezone the site from the RA7 (low rise apartment) zone to the RA8 (medium rise apartment) zone. The rezoning would allow an increase in the maximum building height from four storeys to six. The rezoning requires an amendment to the Jasper Place Area Redevelopment Plan to allow the building height to increase.

Item 3.14 is an application in Sherwood to rezone a single 686 square metre lot at the corner of 152 Street and 94 Avenue. Submitted by Urban Systems on behalf of a private landowner, the application proposes to rezone the site from the RF1 (single detached residential) zone to the RF3 (small scale infill development) zone to allow for small scale multi-unit housing. The site is located between two secondary corridors (149 Street and 156 Street) and is about 475 metres from the future Glenwood/Sherwood LRT station.

Item 3.15 is a rezoning application in Woodcroft for a 633 square metre lot at the corner of 139 Street and Woodcroft Avenue, just north of 115 Avenue. The application was submitted by SPAN Architecture Inc. on behalf of a private landowner and proposes to rezone the site from the RF1 (single detached residential) zone to the RF5 (row housing) zone. The RF5 zone would allow for the development of up to five principal dwellings of ground-oriented multi-unit housing. The site is located close to a number of amenities and is across the street from a school and park (though not in a node or corridor). This item has received significant opposition from the community over the size of the lot, density, traffic, and parking.

Item 3.17/3.18/3.19 is an application in McKernan to rezone six lots at the corner of 109 Street and 77 Avenue, submitted by Watkins Land Developments Ltd. The site is approximately 2,300 square metres in total area. The proposal would rezone the site from a DC2 (site specific development control provision) to the RA7 (low rise apartment) and RF3 (small scale infill development) zones, allowing for low rise multi-unit housing on 109 Street and smaller scale housing on the avenue. According to the Council report, the applicant wants to apply standard zoning to the site in order to increase its marketability. The site is located on the 109 Street secondary corridor, as designated by City Plan. The application requires amendments to both the 109 Street Corridor Area Redevelopment Plan and the McKernan-Belgravia Station Area Redevelopment Plan in order to update maps. Item 3.22 is an application to rezone a 1,670 square metre site in Eastwood from the RF3 (small scale infill development) zone to the RA7 (low rise apartment) zone, submitted by SPAN Architecture Inc. The site is located at the corner of 83 Street and 125 Avenue, and half a block west of 82 Street, which is a secondary corridor. The applicant’s intent is to develop a four storey multi-unit residential building.

Finally, Item 3.23/3.24 is an application in Central McDougall to rezone a 697 square metre, midblock site from the RF1 (single detached residential) zone to the RA7 (low rise apartment) zone. The site is located on 108 Street, between 110 Avenue and 111 Avenue, which is a primary corridor. It was submitted by Green Space Alliance on behalf of the property owner in order to develop a small multi-unit residential building. The application requires an amendment to the Central McDougall/Queen Mary Park Area Structure Plan. All of the infill files have support from City of Edmonton Administration and align with City Plan.

HOW TO SHOW SUPPORT

If any of these applications grabbed your attention as something you like, or that you’d like to see more of in Edmonton, grab your keyboard and let Council know. 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 #.##, May 10, 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.”

Every bit of support makes a difference.

HOW TO WATCH PUBLIC HEARINGS

If you really love infill and municipal politics, watch the public hearing live on the City’s YouTube channel! The action starts at 1:30 PM on May 10.

NEW ARTICLE: SHOULD I USE A STANDARD ZONE OR A DIRECT CONTROL ZONE?

Standard zones, direct control ones, which is better? Our latest blog post unpacks the history of standard zones and direct control zones in Edmonton, and delves into the key things to consider when deciding which zoning tool is right for your next project.

THAT’S A WRAP

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The next City Council public hearing is May 25. Stay tuned.