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Our letter to the City regarding the re-zoning proposal on 19th street (under that heading). May 15, 2009 Mr. Stuart Gripton Planning & Building Department P.O. Box 2100 Calgary, Alberta T2P 2M5 Dear Mr Gripton: RE: Land Use Amendment R-C2 to M-X2
LOC2009-0014 The West Hillhurst Community Association (WHCA) Planning Committee does not support the proposed land use amendment from R-C2 to M-X2 for the following reasons: 1) Building height: the proposed amendment allows a maximum height of 16m which is significantly more than the current maximum height of 8.6m (or the contextual height plus 1.5m, to a maximum of 10m). Given that the neighbouring houses on 19th Street and 1st Avenue, are 1-2 stories high, as well as the fact that the site fronts onto 19th Street (and not on Kensington Road), the Committee feels that this significant increase in height is inappropriate for the context of the site. The height difference would also lead to serious privacy issues with respect to the lower dwellings adjacent to the site. 2) Density: the proposed amendment requires a minimum density of 60 units per hectare, with no maximum density, which is significantly more than the current maximum density of 12 units. Although the Committee generally supports densification, the proposed increase is deemed to be inappropriate given the context of the site. Densification of this magnitude would significantly impact the neighborhood with increases in traffic and parking issues. Indeed, 19th Street is not a 4 lane street and already has major traffic issues. The recent traffic study performed in the area already focused on issues concerning pedestrian safety crossing 19th Street between 1st and 3rd Ave as a number of school age children cross here due to the proximity to Queen Elizabeth and Madeleine d'Houet schools. Additionally, parking continues to be an issue on this street as well as on 1st Ave, with the presence of numerous businesses already in place. It is felt that the proposed densification would exacerbate the parking issues even further despite the required parking under the proposed amendment. 3) Mass and scale: the proposed amendment would establish a land use district on the site that largely disregards its contextual setting. The proposed MX-2 land use district is inappropriate for this site as it will result in a potential built form of a mass and scale several times that of the low density residential development on 1st Avenue, and is generally incompatible with the land uses and character of development in the vicinity of much of the site. Although the Committee does not support the proposed land use redesignation, we would support the following concepts in principle, and would like to ensure that these are considered in future proposals: 1) Height: the Committee would support a building height for the South half of the building fronting Kensington Road that is compatible with the development that fronts Kensington to the west, and a height to the North half that is compatible with the low density development on 1st Avenue. This would represent a site stepping down in height and mass from south to north. 2) Setbacks: Setback requirements should respect the context of the site by recognizing the residents to the East and West and the commercial block to the North, and should have the least impact on the look and feel of the street. The Committee would support shallower setbacks on Kensington Road. 3) Traffic calming measures associated with an increase in density should be explored and implemented where density increases and commercial uses are proposed. 4) Landscape plan should appropriately be planned to offset the impact of the development on the residents of 1st Avenue and 19 Street. 5) Parking requirements should at a minimum, meet the requirements of the Land Use Bylaw. 6) Built Form: the Committee would support ground-oriented development, for example a townhouse style development. 7) Commercial: the Committee supports commercial use of an appropriate type and scale. An Open House was held on April 16th with the City of Calgary, the developer, architect and Community Association. Please find attached, the summary of the feedback received from community members. Should you wish to discuss this further, please contact me at 403-283-9737. Yours truly, WEST HILLHURST COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION Sylvie Tran Chairman of the Planning Committee cc: Alderman Druh Farrell Amy Morin
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