Heritage Communities Local Growth Planning Project | Sept 19, 2019

The Heritage Communities Local Growth Planning project includes the communities of: Eagle Ridge, Kelvin Grove, Kingsland, Fairview, Haysboro, Acadia, Southwood, Willow Park, Maple Ridge and Chinook Park.

Through the local growth planning process, we’ll work together to create a future vision for how land could be used and redeveloped in the area – building on the vision, goals and policies outlined in Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan and the Developed Areas Guidebook.

Why is this happening?

Communities change and evolve over the years. Buildings gain character, community demographics change, trees mature, local amenities and businesses change ownership and offerings. A big part of a community’s life cycle is redevelopment, which often begins when communities reach a certain age and homes, buildings and amenities need to be refreshed and revitalized or renewed and replaced.

Looking more broadly, across the whole city, we need to consider where and how growth and development should happen. We need to consider the sustainability and our city’s urban footprint, we need to ensure existing infrastructure can be maintained and amenities and facilities in established neighbourhoods have the population needed to support them to ensure they continue to thrive. We also need to balance the need to grow and develop with the need to retain and enhance the unique character of our neighbourhoods, historical resources and the natural environment.

What is local growth planning?

Through local growth planning, we look at the fabric of a specific local area, the community’s vision for the evolution of the area, the ideal places to accommodate growth, and how to make the best use of limited land – balancing the need to increase density, improve mobility and enhance places and spaces to live, work and play.

Increased growth and redevelopment is anticipated in the communities of Eagle Ridge, Kelvin Grove, Kingsland, Fairview, Haysboro, Acadia, Southwood, Willow Park, Maple Ridge and Chinook Park over the next few decades.

Working together, we will create a local area plan to help guide growth and redevelopment in a way that integrates and enhances existing community character and ensures the area is vibrant and thriving in the future.

The Heritage Communities Local Growth Planning project is one of the 42 multi-communities areas in the city. This project includes the communities of: Eagle Ridge, Kelvin Grove, Kingsland, Fairview, Haysboro, Acadia, Southwood, Willow Park, Maple Ridge and Chinook Park.

Through the local growth planning process, we’ll work together to create a future vision for how land could be used and redeveloped in the area – building on the vision, goals and policies outlined in Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan and the Developed Areas Guidebook.

A new local area plan will fill gaps in communities/areas where no local plan currently exists and replace other plans that are largely outdated. In this project context, the local area plan will cover multiple communities and will be adopted by Council as an Area Redevelopment Plan.

Currently, the Heritage Communities area has five local policy documents, each covering different portions of the area. These documents were originally created between 1980 and 2017 including:

·L.R.T. South Corridor Policy (1980)

·Fairview Land Use Study (2003)

·Glenmore Trail Land Use Study (2006)

·North Kelvin Grove Area Redevelopment Plan (2012)

·Anderson Station Area Redevelopment Plan (2017)

*(date in brackets indicates year of original adoption or when an entire new version was adopted)

Updating, consolidating or rescinding policies in the above plans will provide a more comprehensive picture of where growth should occur in the future. This is particularly important for key growth areas such as our Main Streets and primary transit corridors such as the Red Line and BRT, in the area. Identifying local growth opportunities along these corridors and within communities is important in order to support existing schools facing declining enrollment, retain and expand the variety of commercial and retail services and support recent and future investment in transit infrastructure.

What is a local area plan?

A local area plan is a plan that provides local-specific direction to indicate and guide where growth and change should happen within a specific local area. Throughout The City these exist as statutory and non-statutory plans and include but are not limited to: Area Redevelopment Plans, Area Structure Plans, Station Area Plans, Design Briefs, Land Use Studies etc.

For those wanting to do further reading, here are some helpful background documents on the project, City planning processes and/or growth and redevelopment. As the project progresses, this library will be added to.

Background handouts:

·Why developed neighbourhoods need to grow and evolve

·How we will grow - MDP Map and Goals

·How we guide growth and redevelopment

·Raising a smart city - Smarter Growth Initiative

·Land Use Redesignations - How it works

Background videos:

·What is Urban Planning?

Background maps:

·Heritage Communities - MDP Map

·Heritage Communities - Existing Policy Areas Maps

·Heritage Communities - Existing Land Use Map

·Heritage Communities - Building Age Map

·Heritage Communities - Parks & Open Space Map

·Heritage Communities - Development Permit Applications

·Heritage Communities - Land Use Applications

Other projects in the Heritage Communities Area:

City-led projects (past & current):

·Guidebook for Great Communities

·Main Streets (2014)

Community-led projects:

·Anderson to Heritage (AH) Coalition

·Sustainable Calgary: Anderson-Heritage (2019)

·Sustainable Calgary: Designing For Health in Alberta. The Acadia example (2019)

·Sustainable Calgary: Acadia Pop Rocks Acadia Pop Rocks Acadia Pop Rocks (2018)

·University of Calgary: Urban Alliance (2018)

·Federation of Calgary Communities: Vision for Southwood (2018)

The Grid Proposed Development in Inglewood | Dec 21, 2017

I wanted to start a conversation with neighbours in Inglewood about the proposed 22-story “Grid” development. While this specific development impacts Inglewood primarily, the exercise and thought process surrounding planning and development is also a conversation every community and community association that is experiencing development pressure should have about how to approach these propositions.

Background and Context

When I was first approached by B & A Planning Group about their proposal to develop a 22-storey building in Inglewood, like many of my neighbours in the community, my initial impression was one of surprise (if you have not received their pamphlet, you can see it here). I decided to walk the proposed site at the corner of Blackfoot Trail SE and 19 Street SE, the former gas station (which has been remediated) to get a better sense of things in scale. The site is located at the eastern gateway to the community, across from the Blackfoot Truck Stop lands, south of the SoBo development and adjacent to the future Southeast 17 Avenue SE Bus Rapid Transit bridge.                

In conjunction with the amazing reinvestment we're about to make on Inglewood's main street through the delivery of the 9 Avenue SE Streetscape Master Plan, we are well into construction on an amazing piece of reinvestment in the amount of $80 million dollars on International Avenue - 17 Avenue South East – one of East Calgary’s amazing main streets. In July 2016, The City obtained another $80 million dollars from the federal government to connect the work being done on International Avenue to Inglewood through the incredible multi-use transit bridge.

The transit bridge will come down the escarpment and will span the entire irrigation canal, Deerfoot Trail and the Bow River. It will follow along the former baseball diamond and terminate at the Blackfoot Truck Stop.  Not only is that an amazing transit route that will remove Calgary Transit vehicles out of traffic (and eventually carry an LRT spur line off of the Green Line) but it's also going to include a high quality, amazing multi-use pathway and for the first time ever, cyclists and pedestrians are finally going to be safely, conveniently, and spectacularly connected from Inglewood up to the amazing communities of Greater Forest Lawn.

The ‘Donut Hole’ in Inglewood

The community of Inglewood began advocating for this reinvestment into the community back in 2003 and 2004. Additionally, we have been advocating for the redevelopment of the Blackfoot Truck Stop lands, since that time, arguing that what we as a community have is a whole in the middle of our community in need of urban development.

Many residents in the community of Inglewood don’t know that there is a deep history of these vacant lands at the eastern gateway to Calgary’s inner city. This part of the community is a former employment zone – the former employment zone for Inglewood. This area used to be where a massive number of Inglewood residents were employed in steel foundries, in warehouses, in lumber yards and in market gardens. Inglewood residents would walk to this central area for work. When the railroad no longer became the primary transportation mode of choice and the City of Calgary ran a freeway through the community, the classic 1960's “tail of a dragon” scenario ensued with the Blackfoot Trail sterilizing this part of the community for development, leaving this empty hole in Inglewood and showing the failings of poor urban planning.

Downtown Inglewood

Since 2003, the Inglewood Community Association - through my leadership - has been advocating that this central area should be a ‘mini-downtown’ for our community; it should fulfill its historic place in the story of Inglewood as an employment centre while encouraging the case, through increased use and density, of bringing the modern conveniences of amenities, like a grocery store to Inglewood, creating one of the major hearts of the urban village that is Inglewood.

We've been very successful in the last seven years. With the massive reinvestment in East Calgary, and funding for policy plans like the 9 Avenue Streetscape Master Plan and the new Inglewood Area Redevelopment Plan, among other things, we now have the market responding to the work converging on this area. 

This project is certainly more intense than anything that I would have anticipated.   

Mischaracterizing the Process

Unfortunately, some of my neighbours in Inglewood have been suggesting that I'm 100% for this project, and that the community is having conversations regarding gearing up to fight the project.

First off, let's not be hasty. Second, I am neither for or against this project and any characterization of my position that contradicts that is false. Recently, it came to my attention that members of the Inglewood Community Association indicated that they were informed by the developer that I had given them my full-throated support for this project. When I reached out to the developers, they denied ever having indicated that.

I am one fifteenth of the decision as to whether something like this takes place. What we need to do right now is that Inglewood residents need to have good thoughtful conversations about this development and its planning merits or lack thereof, refine the points for and/or against this project and be prepared to discuss those ideas with their neighbours, myself, and in front of City Council at the Public Hearing of Council. 

The process for this land use change, like any other land use change that has proceeded before it, has not changed.

1. Consultation and engagement with the community by the developers and/or their agents;

2. Consultation with City Administration with recommendation to approve or refuse the land use application;

3. Hearing at Calgary Planning Commission and approval or refusal of City Administration recommendation; and

4. Public Hearing  at City Council

City Council will be weighing in on this land use application at the Public Hearing stage. At this Public Hearing, City Council will get the opportunity to hear from everybody – proponents and opponents alike.  Until that time, I'm not legally able to make a decision until that point. Obviously, my advocacy for the area will help shape Council’s decision, and my advocacy will be based on the planning merits of this proposal and weighing its benefits and its challenges with respect to city policy, the developers position, and community desires and aspirations within the context of creating a win-win-win scenario if possible.

Planning Merit – What Does That Mean?

It’s really important that we realize that this is a proposition to put density in a transit oriented development area that the community of Inglewood has been advocating for, for a very long time, and it’s important to take the merit of the plan into account. Failing to do that and not asking the right questions can be a recipe for disaster. We need to ensure we follow the best principles of community planning possible.

What are some of the questions that should be asked and answered within a community context? Here are some of the questions City Council will be asking presenters at the Public Hearing as an example:

1. Is this the right amount of density for the area in question?

2. What are some of the potential benefits? What are its challenges?

3. Is it well deployed?

4. Does this project adhere to the principles set out in the Municipal Development Plan and Calgary Transportation Plan? If yes, which sections? If not, where?

5. Does this project adhere to the principles set out in the current Inglewood Area Redevelopment Plan and draft Inglewood Area Redevelopment Plan? Does it jive with the principles set out in the Inglewood Design Initiative?

6. Which City policies take primacy over others in making this land use application decision?

7. What does the community of Inglewood get in return for this project, if successful? What would any possible community benefits package be?

It is important to answer these and other appropriate and thoughtful questions prior to the Public Hearing of Council, and I am more than willing to meet with residents of Inglewood to have these conversations in a congenial way.

Conclusion

When I went to city hall seven years ago, it was to achieve everything we're in the process of achieving right now. It was always known that as a community association, we had very little power, but we had a lot of influence, but only if we came to the table with the developer and The City very thoughtfully.

What I've seen over the last few years is a real devolution from that thoughtfulness that we had developed 10 years prior. I really want to encourage everyone to sit down and think about the community’s best future; to think about everything that we've been working to achieve, where we're at in that process, and how to make sure that every process and every project that comes to the table contributes to that best future.

The community of Inglewood is in the middle of our local area planning process. These are exactly the kinds of conversations we should be having right now. What I want each and every Inglewood resident, institution and business to do is to challenge each other, to challenge me and to have thoughtful conversations.

As always, I encourage community members – residents, businesses and other Inglewood institutions – to reach out to me.

Gian-Carlo Carra

Suite, Suite, Calgary | Dec 18, 2017

I would like to take this opportunity to talk to you about secondary suites.  On December 11th, at Calgary City Council, it was a pretty historic day for the City of Calgary and for my Great Neighborhoods mission at City Hall.

Why? Because we significantly moved the ball further down the field with respect to secondary suites.

What happened?

On December 11, City Council agreed in a 10-5 vote to direct City Administration to bring bylaw changes applying to the ENTIRE city around the issue of secondary suites. The objective of this move is to update and amend the Land Use Bylaw to make secondary suites a DISCRETIONARY USE everywhere secondary suites are currently not permitted as a discretionary use, rather than continuing to restrict R1-zoned districts.

The process today

Currently, when you bring forward a land use application to City Hall, you essentially say, "I'd like to convert my R1 property to R1s." Property owners present before Council asking for this change, often sharing personal details as to why they want to build a secondary suite. Neighbours can come out for or against this land use application, which is not only onerous and time-consuming for Council but pits neighbour-against-neighbour and can influence decisions on land use applications to be based on emotions rather than planning merit. 

If you emerge from the other side successfully, you get a permitted use for a secondary suite within the four walls of your existing home, or you get a discretionary use for a cottage in your backyard or a carriage house suite above your garage.

Discretionary Use vs. Permitted Use

The difference between a permitted use and a discretionary use is this: if everything was zoned "permitted use" you'd be allowed to build a secondary suite as long as you meet the building code requirements without going through the steps of re-designating your land (which is what we currently do). With discretionary use, you would have to apply for a development permit. That development permit gets scrutinized by City Administration and it also gets weighed in on by your neighbours.

Discretionary use is a compromise.

I was initially concerned that by making secondary suites a discretionary use it would translate into six hours of almost semi-formal court proceedings at the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board; and, if you had wealthy neighbours who wanted to lawyer up, you would also need to lawyer up when applying for a secondary suite. In my mind, this would be a nightmare.

I was backed off of the ledge of fighting against discretionary use. Secondary suites are legal throughout most of Canada and it has not resulted in an explosion of Subdivision and Development Appeal Board hearings. What happens at the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board is they look at the technical merits of the case and if you meet them, you're free to renovate your personal and private property.

This decision, when fully implemented, is going to take an entire step out of the process whereby you are no longer required to come to City Hall and air your most intimate and personal life details to obtain a secondary suite.

My stance on what happened

The Notice of Motion that triggered this discussion was brought forward by Councillor Shane Keating, and it had three clauses:

1. That secondary suites be a discretionary use throughout the city (except where they are already permitted);

2. That we establish a registry so that all legal secondary suites are part of a database that we can track; and,

3. That we return to the era of charging application fees for secondary suites.

I have been asked that if I was so supportive, why did I not put my name on that Notice of Motion – the fact is, I did not sign on because I was not in support of the third clause.

I supported the discretionary use. I also support the registry because it makes sense since we want to be able to track data. As time goes on, and as the black market of secondary suites transitions into a white market, the registry will help in determining and tracking this changeover.

The final thing, though, are the fees. When you're bringing a land use application forward, it's a $6000 application fee. The City of Calgary was waiving that application fee as an incentive to build secondary suites and was also waiving the development permit application fee (which is $454)  for the same reason. Council (unfortunately) voted to reinstate these application fees. So while the age of coming in and getting a land use change is no longer necessary, you’re now going to be on the hook for a development permit application fee and a building permit application fee.

I am happy that Council supported secondary suites and its discretionary use through a 10-5 vote. On the whole, Council did a very good thing.

Were there other votes on secondary suites?

There were a number of other Motions Arising that were brought forward on this specific item before Council. I consistently voted against them. In the end, they were resolutions that told City Administration to think about other things while updating and amending the bylaw.

I was against them because:

1. I want to keep the regulation on this simple; and,

2. A lot of the concerns about secondary suites are not concerns about secondary suites. They're concerns about bad landlords and bad tenants and we have a Community Standards Bylaw that is meant to address these things. As a person who is against cumbersome regulation and red tape, this was contrary to my principles.

I'm hoping that this message gets across to my colleagues when this comes back in March for final approval, and that we move forward with the discretionary use with a licensing system and moderate application fees for secondary suites.

On the whole, December 11 was an historic day for the #YYCSuite movement, and I'm looking forward to March 2018 when we actually enact all of this into law.

Improving Calgary's Worst Intersection - 25th Ave & Macleod Tr S | Feb 1, 2017

For years we have heard from our Ward 9 neighbours, especially those in Erlton and Ramsay, about their dissatisfaction when crossing MacLeod Trail at 25th Ave South. Long waits for both cars and pedestrians coupled with delayed crossings when an LRT is approaching has caused this hair-pulling, blood-boiling frustration for those travelling from east to west. 

With emerging best practices in transit-oriented development (TOD) dominating Calgary's urban planning ethos, focusing on neighbourhood life and creating a condition where mixed-use developments can thrive at this intersection is vital. 

There were plans 'on the books' to update this intersection, though those plans were out-dated and, basically, unbuildable. As a result, Council decided to omit the old plans and, in principle, introduce new plans that would  promote walkable, transit-oriented neighbourhoods around the Erlton LRT station. 

Right now these plan are unfunded and only in their infancy. Deep engagement with the affected communities is needed and, though, a lot of work was done to get us here, a lot more work has to come to get us to where we want to be. 

We encourage all our Ward 9 neighbours, especially those in Erlton, to reach out to our office and share your thoughts on how we can make the intersection of MacLeod Trail and 25th Ave into a vibrant (and functional) part of our inner-city. 

12th Street Bridge Closure - Update | Jan 30, 2017

Your Team Ward 9 knows that our neighbours in Inglewood and Ramsay have been tremendously patient with all the construction in and around their communities over the last year, particularly the Zoo Flood Mitigation project and the 12 Street SE Bridge Replacement project.  We are extremely grateful to all of you for your continued patience and understanding. 

We have been working with the 12 Street SE Bridge Replacement project team over the last year to keep the original bridge open for as along as possible. The intent was that it would be used as a pedestrian bridge so that Inglewoodians and Ramsayites could continue to access the other side of the Bow river and Zoo Island. 

Unfortunately,  your Team Ward 9 recently found of that the existing 12 Street SE Bridge will have to be closed as a result of its deteriorating state.  What we know right now is that the original bridge will be removed as early as Spring 2017. We will be continuing to update our neighbours in Inglewood and Ramsay as we learn more about the timelines and impact on our communities. 

Want to know more about the removal of the existing 12 Street SE bridge? Check out the FAQs.

Zoo Flood Mitigation Project - Pile Driving Concerns | May 6, 2016

Team Ward 9 has heard from many concerned residents about the noise and vibrations coming from the Zoo Flood Mitigation Project as they pile drive steel sheets into the ground. Gian-Carlo outlines the project and discusses the conversations he is having with the Senior Management Team to see how to help our neighbours in Inglewood. 

Railway Policy Framework | April 2016

The City of Calgary is currently in the process of reviewing the Railway Corridor Policy. At the March 21st Strategic Meeting of Council, Administration presented the current approach to processing development permit applications adjacent to rail and what they are doing to improve the framework for addressing current issues. Council directed Administration to consult with community members and report back no later than Q2 2016 with a terms of reference that includes deliverables, scope of work and a timeline for creating an improved Railway Policy Framework. 

Erlton, Parkhill, and Rideau-Roxboro Community Objective Workshop | Feb 22, 2016

On Saturday, February 20th Team Ward 9 hosted our first Community Objectives Workshop or "COW" in the communities of Erlton, Parkhill and Rideau-Roxboro. This was a chance for community members, business and social institution to weigh in on the issues that affect them and for Team Ward 9 to collect valuable information that will be incorporated back into our strategic plan.

Watch Gian-Carlo's post-workshop overview and get ready for our next COW, which is happening on Saturday, March 12th for the communities of Bridgeland-Riverside and Renfrew!

John Howard Society - Bedford House | Feb 1, 2016

On February 8th, 2016 Council will be looking at another interesting land use item at the Public Hearing.

John Howard Society, based in Inglewood, runs Bedford House - a federally regulated halfway house. 

Currently, Bedford House is located in the Victoria Park area but is required to relocate as their current lease is set to expire. A new building is slated for Ward 9's Manchester Industrial area, though it will take at least 3 years for the new Bedford House to be constructed.

Cllr. Carra, along with Cllr. Chabot, have worked with the John Howard Society to find a temporary location in Greater Forest Lawn. 

Watch Cllr. Carra explain some of the best practices around the halfway house process and what the issue is coming before Council.

Delta West Academy (Bridgeland School) Land Use Change | January 11, 2016

The Delta West Academy is requesting for the land use re-designation on their site from SC-I to MC-1. This will be coming to Calgary Planning Commission (CPC) on Thursday, January 14th. 

It is item 5.06 on the agenda.

CPC starts at 1:00 pm in the Engineering Traditions Room located on the lower level of Historic City Hall. 

Watch Gian-Carlo explain the request for a land use re-designation from SC-I to MC-1 on the site of the Delta West Academy (Bridgeland School) and how CPC will review it based on the technical merit of the request.