plans to guide future redevelopment in many southwest calgary After some opposition from residents during a public hearing at City Hall, the communities have been given the go-ahead from the City Council.
of city westbrook local area plan To guide 30 years of future growth and development in ten Southwest communities to reverse the population decline in those areas over the past 50 years.
The ten communities included in the plan are: Glenbrook, Glendale, Killarney/Glengarry, Richmond, Rosscarrock, Shaganappi, Spruce Cliff, Westgate, Wildwood and Upper Scarborough/Sunalta West.
10 southwest Calgary communities included in the Westbrook Local Area Plan.
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Those communities had a population of 37,619 in 1968, according to city statistics, but declined 4.1 percent to 36,058 by 2019.
A city report states that only Killarney and Spruce Cliff have more people living there than 40 to 50 years ago.
“By supporting increased density in key locations, such as transit stations, main streets and activity centers, and by gradually increasing within neighborhoods, the population in Westbrook communities can buck trends of school closures and loss of neighborhood amenities.” may begin to reverse,” said a city report.
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While the plan will not re-zone any properties in the communities, it does highlight some areas where higher density housing options such as rowhouses and multi-unit homes will be allowed to be built.
More than 30 residents and representatives from the communities involved in the plan were present at City Hall on Tuesday for the public hearing.
Several residents voiced their opposition to the plan, including Chris Wellner, president of the Glendale Community Association.
“We really don’t feel like the community concerns have been heard,” Wellner told Global News.
Concerns varied between the city’s consultation process, increased traffic and parking issues due to density, and how the plan could affect communities made up largely of single-family homes.
“Developers will be able to come to city council when they want to change the zoning of a property, armed with a policy that says they can do so,” Wellner said.
“To build row houses or four-storey apartment blocks, where the policy says; Things like this are going to tear our communities apart in the long run.
Matt Stumbaugh, president of the Wildwood Community Association, said the communities are not opposed to the density, but there are concerns about the plan’s application in the various communities within its radius.
“The perception will be, ‘established communities are afraid of change’ – nothing could be further from the truth,” Stumbaugh told the council.
“Established communities care for their communities, there is an incredibly connected set of community members, and there are legitimate concerns about the pace and scale of the proposed densification.”
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The plan also emphasizes more development around Westbrook Mall and the CTrain station, as well as “sustained incremental growth and transformation” within residential areas, and higher density development along busy streets such as Main Street and 17 Avenue SW.
The plan received some support during public hearings, including from Capital City Shopping Centers Limited, which owns Westbrook Mall, and the Shaganappi Community Association.
The city said the plan is a tailored approach to introducing greater density and development to the area.
“A lot of people west of 37th Street are hoping that development pressures won’t increase and their communities emerge, that’s not realistic,” Ward 6 Coun. Richard Potmans said.
“Fundamental market forces will prevail as access to transport and proximity to the core will inevitably drive growth.”
“The policies will be monitored and, when vetted by the administration, updated in a continuous improvement process.”
Councilors voted 12 to 2 in favor of the Westbrook Local Area Plan with Ward 13 Count. Dan McLean and Ward 4 Coun. Sean Choo is voting in the opposition.
The plan will return to council for final approval at a later date.
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