On-site Community Discussion: 956 Radnor Avenue
If you’re reading this, there’s a high likelihood that you’ve reached out to our office about recent planning matters in Renfrew!
There has been an enormous amount of interest and misinformation circulating about both the North Hill Communities Local Area Plan and a possible development at 956 Radnor Avenue NE.
Due to the high volume of emails we have been receiving, we wanted to provide some clarity and invite you to a COVID-safe, on-site discussion with Cllr Carra to discuss some of the confusion surrounding these issues.
Join us for an on-site discussion to address these concerns!
Join us! | 956 Radnor Avenue | Wednesday, June 23rd, 6:00pm
Please wear a mask, practise social distancing, and engage in respectful discussion!
Please note that there has been NO LAND USE CHANGE OR DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS submitted to the City of Calgary on behalf of the United Church of Canada or other property owners regarding 956 Radnor Avenue NE
To address some concerns, we’ve added some Q&As below:
Q. What is Councilor Carra’s Position on the Renfrew United Church Proposal?
Adaptive reuse of Churches can mean really great things for the community, however, that outcome requires extensive and thoughtful engagement with neighbours to ensure space is best utilized to serve the community.
Cllr. Carra always has and will continue to advocate on behalf of the community for the best outcomes, which includes robust engagement and meaningful consultation with the community (which has not yet taken place). This process must be led by the applicant after submitting an application, which has not yet happened.
At this time, Cllr Carra’s position is that the renderings released to the public, and what we have see of the proposal so far, do not sufficiently show a net benefit or thoughtful integration into the community and he would encourage more clarity and consideration of the concerns of residents be demonstrated before he could support a project of this kind.
If you are interested in contacting the future applicant or learning more about this potential application, you can reach Martin Veenhoven, Project Manager at Keystone Architecture via their website, phone ( 587-391-4768), or email (martin@keystonearch.ca) or Renfrew United Church via phone (403) 277-1571 or online to learn more.
Q. What is the process for approval of this kind of application?
If a landowner wants to pursue development on their property, they must first ensure that their proposed plans match the existing land use of the property and its environment. This information can be found and reviewed online here.
If their plans are in line with the land use designation, they can then apply for a Development Permit (DP). If their plans are not in line with the land use designation of the property, they must first apply for a Land Use Change (LOC). These two separate applications can be applied for simultaneously, but the LOC must be approved prior to a DP.
ALL Planning Applications must:
Be submitted to the City of Calgary’s Planning and Development department, pay application fees, and work with their assigned File Manager
Be advertised publicly on billboards and available for viewing on the Development Map
Undergo a period of engagement where the applicants solicit feedback, remain open for comment, and prove an appropriate level of engagement with the community
Be circulated to the Community Association and the Councillor’s offices for comment
Undergo a public hearing
Reviewed by the Calgary Planning Commission
Be approved by a majority vote at Council*
*Legally, Council members must remain amenable to persuasion until the closing of the public hearing. Each council member and the Mayor represent one of 15 votes, which will ultimately decide if a particular development is approved or not.
You can learn more about development in your community by visiting the Development Map at at any time!
We’ve attached an info sheet on how to advocate for your community in the face of change and click here for info on speaking at a public hearing.
Q. What’s the North Hill Growth Plan and what does it mean for my community?
Information about the North Hill Growth and Local Area Plan can be found here: https://engage.calgary.ca/northhill
On that page, you can find the history of the work done so far, key upcoming dates, the plan itself.
The idea of Local Area Plans is to help establish a longer-term plan for how communities will grow and change; creating better conversation, more certainty for residents, developers and the City of Calgary.
It will help residents advocate for changes and for investments they want.
It will help direct growth in places that make sense and preserve elements of their community that they don’t want to change.
It will help developers and landowners make better decisions around where to invest.
It will ensure better use of tax dollars and direct long-term budget and planning for capital and amenity investments such as Transit, connectivity, recreation facilities, etc.
Through extensive and thoughtful engagement, Local Area Plans will become adopted by the City Planning Department. These plans will be referred to and better inform File Managers and Council Members when deliberating particular Land Use Change and Development Applications.
Local Area Plans will not actually develop anything, accelerate or prevent change or even determine outcomes. They will be used to better inform decision-making around Planning and Development in Communities. Even without Local Area Plans, applications for development and change will still happen. With Local Area Plans, change will be more predictable and understandable, easier to budget for from a City Budget perspective, and hopefully, less contentious.
We hope this email has been helpful, or at the very least, informative. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions.
We love Renfrew and want to ensure that there is no density without amenity and there is no change without thoughtful engagement and input from the community. Hope you can join us on Wednesday!