Airdrie City Council will not proceed with a proposed Land Use Bylaw amendment to facilitate the redevelopment of a vacant parcel along Edmonton Trail Southeast. The RCMP once utilized the site as their detachment, but it has been vacant since 2015. Instead, the council tabled the proposed bylaw amendment to return to the council in several months, possibly in December.
The decision was based on significant concerns from community residents and many questions from council members; one of the more prevalent concerns was parking issues.
The site and proposed plans
Jeff Brunen, a city Senior Planner, explained that the site, located on the west side of Edmonton Trail Southeast at the southern end of the commercial corridor, has direct southbound access from Edmonton Trail to the QEII. It also has a pedestrian pathway connecting westwards to Allen Street Southeast.
The land use bylaw amendment would have meant that the site in question would have changed from 'Direct Control District DC-39 and replaced it entirely with Direct Control District DC-55'.
Brunen explained that the property is located at the northern boundary of the Edgewater community and is surrounded by established residential development on three sides.
"The only vehicle access to the property is from Edmonton Trail, and the property has strong pedestrian connectivity through the adjacent regional pathway running north and south and a pathway connection to Allen Street Southeast," he said. "The parking areas are used by the surrounding community and other users like tow trucks and snow removal vehicles, and the site is also an unofficial off-leash area."
The current zoning, as it is, is intended 'to accommodate a three-story mixed-use building with no more than 21 dwelling units.' The proposed redistribution of the district meant allowing a single five-story mixed-use building.
"Land use standards are established for setbacks, landscaping, site coverage and amenity areas. [The proposed bylaw] also proposes to increase the maximum dwelling units from 21 to 56 and expands the list of permitted uses, adding those like artist studios, general entertainment, financial services, residential sales centers and liquor retail."
Brunen added that the DC-55 would also 'provide a comprehensive list of development standards that focus on development, impact mitigation, crime prevention, site design, site access, parking connectivity, signage and screening.'
"The site plan aligns with the proposed DC-55 district by indicating a single mixed-use building with 120 parking stalls split between 87 surface stalls and 33 underground stalls. Only the main floor of this building would be used for commercial purposes, while the upper floors would have one and two-bedroom residential dwellings."
Just to the north, there would be 12 existing parking stalls, though these stalls are not included in the total parking stall count.
Brunen outlined that the proposed bylaw addressed vital issues such as increasing the building height from three to five stories, managing vehicle access, and integrating the development into the community.
The DC-55 district standards and existing city bylaws covered solutions to challenges like privacy, shadow casting, traffic, and parking. A shadow study indicated minimal impact on sunlight except during the winter solstice, while a Transportation Impact Assessment approved minor traffic flow improvements without requiring a connection to Allen Street.
Representatives of Investec Consulting Incorporated (Inc.), the applicant applying for the bylaw amendment on behalf of the registered landowner, Creation Communities Incorporated (Inc.), were also on hand on Tuesday at the city council. Planning Manager Fabio Coppola noted that the public had been significantly engaged.
"Through consultation with the public, there [was] concern noted around privacy, such as peering into backyards and noise mitigation through cars and just general site noise through our landscape plan," he said. "Creation Communities has committed to providing additional landscape along the western and southern edge of the property line, as well as including a new wood fence along the south property line, removing and replacing the existing chain link fence for additional privacy and screening."
Councillors voice concerns
Councillor Ron Chapman was the first to note that the proposed number of parking spaces seemed to be less than the standard requirement for a residential unit. Brunen explained that the process identified that the dwellings would likely be single-car dwellings.
"The Direct Control district states the exact amount of parking required, so no more, no less," he said.
Later in the meeting, Councillor Chapman recalculated the parking stall requirements, noting that the current bylaw requires 1.75 parking stalls per residential unit, with 0.25 stalls allocated for visitor parking. The development would meet the visitor parking requirement (14 stalls for 56 units) but falls short on residential parking, with a deficit of 28 stalls.
"Even if we went down to 1.25, [it] would require another 14 units, which is 70. I could probably live with that, but one stall per unit, I don't think, cuts it," Chapman added.
However, councillors were also concerned whether the planned development's residential portion would address what Councillor Chapman noted was 'missing middle housing,' broadly defined as a lack of medium-density housing.
"How do we confirm these will not be investors that buy these 56 units and turn them into short-term rentals? Is that something a condo board can govern?" asked Councillor Chapman.
However, the city's current Landuse Bylaw does not have any stipulations regarding short-term rentals. Price-wise, the units would sell for approximately $230 thousand, depending on market conditions. City officials relented that the units would not be considered the missing middle housing within the strict definitions.
"Regarding our strict definitions with our Housing Accelerator Fund agreement, it is not considered missing middle. It is considered a multi-family. However, for the outcome of diverse and more affordable housing options, it meets those goals," a city official noted.
However, Councillor Heather Spearman noted that parking always seems to be a topic of discussion in public hearings and land redistricting and that there is a broader discussion about the transit system.
"I think it's just a symptom that we need to look at our Transit Master Plan a lot more extensively as a council because we are missing the mark there," she noted. "I do have concerns around us going, well, let's reduce parking for this area, and I hope that people only have one vehicle while not doing something about the greater issue: our transit system needs broader growth as we grow."
Councillor Spearman noted that, based on some of the commentary from the public hearing, many in the community expressed the opinion that Airdrie is growing perhaps too quickly.
"... And we're putting too many dense housing buildings in different areas. But the reality is, we're growing because we have two other levels of government above us that are encouraging millions of people to move here and to Alberta. Airdrie is not the only city in Alberta that is exploding right now. So, we have to find places for people to live. We have to grow these buildings, even if they are not in the neighbourhoods that necessarily want them. I think we're at the point where every neighbourhood will get a medium to high-density building in the next few years. We need to acknowledge that that's the case."
Spearman did, though, say that she supported her other council colleagues in tabling the decision until a more comprehensive report, including an address to the residents' concerns, was presented to the council.
Residents concerned, namely over parking and privacy
One resident living in Edgewater who spoke to the council in opposition to the potential development said that the proposed re-redistricting that would allow the five-story development was incompatible with the existing single-family homes in the area.
"Putting up a six-foot fence and landscaping in a few shrubs will in no way mitigate or alleviate the intrusive and disruptive light and noise pollution from potentially hundreds more people living in a five-story building adjacent to any homeowner property," resident Nor will it mitigate or alleviate all the increased vehicle exhaust, noise and light pollution that will now be negatively impacting any homeowner property," the resident said.
Like many councillors, she also underlined the parking issue.
"This [site] is the worst site to put futuristic 50-year-away, low-to-no car housing, and then cram hundreds of people onto it that that part," she noted forcefully.
Other residents who presented to the council who were in opposition cited privacy issues.
"We are adjacent to the property; a five-story building would be squeezed into the property, stick out like a sore thumb, look ridiculous, appear out of place and look like an afterthought," another resident told councillors.
The resident also added that he believed five- and six-story buildings within Airdrie have been designed and incorporated into new developments, providing recreation, parks, schools, parking, public access, etc.
"... And they all fit within the design standards of the definition of high-density developments. On a personal note, a five-story structure built above our home would look directly into our backyard."
Another resident who represented residents of the condominiums on 900 Allen Street also noted parking as a concern.
"We already have minimal parking on Allen Street as it is. In previous events where we've had construction on Allen Street and whatnot, people will park farther away, jump our fence, jump our neighbours' fences - to get to their vehicles," he said. "We know that when they build this building, they won't have enough parking... They're going to park on Allen Street."
The council concluded the public hearing and said they would revisit the matter in November, requesting that the administration works with the applicant to return with a parking analysis 'that increases the number of parking stalls that would blend both a commercial and residential need, a pedestrian and vehicle traffic safety analysis' and a formal site line analysis.
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