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Zone In: June 8 Public Hearing + Welcome to Our New Employee!

Hello and welcome to Issue #7 of Zone In, Situate’s newsletter on what’s happening at Edmonton City Council public hearings on land development. The next City Council public hearing is coming up tomorrow, June 8. Read on for the summary of what’s on the agenda (and what Council approved at the last public hearing on May 25).


THE ‘WHY’ BEHIND ZONE IN

We created Zone In for two reasons: to make it quicker and easier to find out what’s happening at City Council public hearings, and to make it easier to show your support for rezoning applications (because a little bit of support goes a long, long way).

Our newsletter focuses on applications related to infill and urban redevelopment; Situate’s client files are highlighted in orange.

MAY 25, 2022 PUBLIC HEARING RECAP

First, let’s recap what happened at the May 25 public hearing. The three notable infill files were Items 3.10 and 3.11 (dealt with together), Items 3.12 and 3.13 (dealt with together), and Items 3.14 and 3.15 (dealt with together).

If you’ve ever attended a public hearing, you’ll know that Council typically selects infill applications for debate, and usually doesn’t have much to say about applications in developing neighbourhoods. On May 25 the opposite was true: Council approved all three infill items without debate, and had questions about the greenfield files. First we’ll recap the infill files.


Item 3.10/3.11 was an application to rezone three lots totaling 1,620 square metres in Glenwood. The site is on the corner of 162 Street and 100 Avenue, two blocks south of Stony Plain Road—a primary corridor. The application was submitted by Tamon Architecture Inc. on behalf of a private landowner to rezone the site from the RF1 (single detached residential zone) to the RA7 (low rise apartment) zone. The rezoning would allow for the development of a multi-unit housing building with a height of approximately four storeys. The rezoning required an amendment to the Jasper Place Area Redevelopment Plan to change the land use designation of the site from SPR1 Transit Oriented Housing to SPR2 Multi-family Housing. The application was approved without debate.  

 

Item 3.12/3.13 was an application submitted by Situate on behalf of Equity Built Homes to rezone a single lot in Queen Mary Park at the corner of 113 Street and 110a Avenue. The application proposed 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 (row) housing. The site is located one block south of 111 Avenue, which is a primary corridor. The rezoning required an amendment to the Central McDougall/Queen Mary Park Area Redevelopment Plan to amend a map. The application was approved without debate.

 

Item 3.14/3.15 was a rezoning application in Westmount for a large corner site on 111 Avenue and 124 Street. The application was submitted by V3 Companies of Canada on behalf of a private landowner and proposed to rezone the site from the CB1 (low intensity business) zone and RA8 (medium rise apartment) zone to the CB3 (commercial mixed business) zone and Main Streets Overlay. The proposed zoning would allow for the development of a ten to twelve storey mixed-use building. The site is located on a primary corridor (111 Avenue) and a secondary corridor (124 Street). The rezoning required an amendment to the West Ingle Area Redevelopment Plan to redesignate the area south of 111 Avenue on 124 street as “pedestrian oriented shopping street.” The application was approved without debate.

In the developing area (new neighbourhoods), two files were selected by Council for debate.


The first was Item 3.2, an application in the Orchards at Ellerslie to rezone a 4.09 hectare area from the AGI (industrial reserve) zone to the RLD (residential low density) zone. This application was submitted by Stantec on behalf of Avillia Developments Ltd. The second item selected for debate was Item 3.3, an application in Aster to rezone 1.65 hectares of land from the AG (agricultural) zone to the RLD (residential low density) zone. It was submitted by WSP Ltd. on behalf of Qualico Developments West Ltd.


Councillor Principe initiated the debate about these two files, which centred around whether the two applications would provide enough density, and whether they aligned with City Plan direction. Administration responded that the neighbourhood plans contain density targets to be achieved at a neighbourhood level, and that these low density developments would be balanced with higher density development elsewhere in the neighbourhoods. Both items were approved by Council, with Councillors Principe and Rice voting against them.

JUNE 8, 2022 PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA OVERVIEW

The June 8 public hearing agenda has a total of twelve items: one item is a road closure, two pertain to industrial land, two items are in the developing area (new neighbourhoods), and seven items are in the redeveloping area (mature neighbourhoods). One of the items in the redeveloping area is to allow for a medical office with an extended medical treatment facility in Prince Rupert, and is not profiled here.

The notable infill files are Item 3.6, Item 3.8, Item 3.9, Item 3.10, and Items 3.11 and 3.12 (to be dealt with together).

Item 3.6 is an application to rezone a lot in High Park on the corner of 152 Street and 109 Avenue. The application was submitted by a private landowner to rezone the site from the RF1 (single detached residential zone) to the RF3 (small scale infill development) zone. The rezoning would allow for the development of small scale multi-unit (row) housing. The site is not located within any nodes or corridors as identified by City Plan, but is located on a corner close to several other RF3 lots.

Item 3.8 is an application submitted by Eins Consulting on behalf of a private landowner to rezone a 1,500 square metre site in Wellington at the corner of 132 Street and 132 Avenue. The application proposes to rezone the site from the CNC (neighbourhood convenience commercial) zone to the CB1 (low intensity business) zone to allow a broader range of commercial opportunities. The site is not located within any nodes or corridors as identified by City Plan, but is on an intersection with existing commercial and multi-unit housing uses.

Item 3.9 is a rezoning application in Eastwood for a 695 square metre lot on 83 Street, just north of 118 Avenue. The application was submitted by Kahled Mustafa on behalf of a private landowner, and proposes to rezone the site from the CB2 (general business) zone to the RA7 (low rise apartment) zone. The proposed zoning would allow for the development of a four-storey residential building within a primary corridor (118 Avenue).

Item 3.10 is an application to rezone a 600 square metre lot in Strathearn on 85 Street, south of 95 Avenue. The application was submitted by Clarity Development Advisory on behalf of a private landowner to rezone the site from the RF1 (single detached residential) zone to the CNC (neighbourhood convenience commercial) zone. The rezoning would allow for the development of small scale commercial uses, with residential opportunities above the ground floor. The site is within the 85 Street secondary corridor.

Item 3.11/3.12 is an application in Oliver to rezone a large site on the corner of Jasper Avenue and 115 Street. The application was submitted by Stantec Consulting Ltd. on behalf of Greenlong Construction to rezone the site from the RA9 (high rise apartment) zone and DC1 (direct development control provision) to a DC2 (site specific development control provision). The rezoning would allow for the development of two mixed use towers, approximately 30 and 54 storeys in height, with a maximum density of 905 units. The proposed DC2 provision would allow significantly greater height and floor area ratio than the RA9 zone would allow. The site is located within the Centre City district, which is the central node of the metropolitan region.

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 #.##, June 8, 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.”

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 June 8.

WELCOME OUR NEW EMPLOYEE

We’re very pleased to announce that Allison Rosland has joined the Situate team as a new planner / project manager. Allison has nine years experience in the consulting world, including four years as a planning consultant, and it shines through in her thorough attention to detail and client-centred focus. Connect with her on Linkedin!

THAT’S A WRAP

Thank you for reading this far! We hope you found the content useful. If you have suggestions for how to make this newsletter better, hit reply and let us know.

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The next City Council public hearing is June 22. Watch your inbox!

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