7/29/2019 GlenwoodCL-LettertoCouncil-Feb2013ZoningAmendments

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February 8th, 2013

Mayor Stephen Mandel

Edmonton City Councillors

Hello Your Worship & Members of Council,

You are in receipt of a letter signed by a broad selection of Community Leagues regarding Bylaw 16271,

requesting that the proposed amendment to our citys zoning bylaw be referred back to civic administration forfurther work and consultation. The board of the Glenwood CL is in support of this request, and we may be

considered a signatory to it as well.

What is being proposed here is the single largest alteration to zoning in Edmonton since the current zoning bylaw

and mature neighbourhood overlay were brought into place. Furthermore, you are certainly not strangers to the

extensive discussions which took place during the drafting and approval of the Residential Infill Guidelines.

On behalf of our membership, and in a sincere desire to advocate for the best possible future for our

neighbourhood as it grows, densifies and redevelops, we hope that Council will support taking the time and giving

this process, and these amendments, the breadth of consultation and discussion that they deserve.

Creating a productive and progressively regulated development environment in mature communities and ensuring

quality consultation to jointly set the stage for meaningful redevelopment which sensitively increases density and

provides housing stock for a demographic which is currently choosing a suburban life is most assuredly no easy

task. The devil, however, is in the details - how the guidelines which have been given community support are

implemented in bylaw and In the way residents, proponents and the marketplace work together on both individual

projects and long-term planning initiatives.

We are requesting time and opportunity. Time to consult our membership and reach-out to the community

at-large, to allow them to discuss these changes face-to-face with planners and developers. You as members of

Council made a sizeable investment in our community in choosing to fund the Jasper Place Area Redevelopment

Plan, a project that is now in its infancy. We are requesting time to work with stakeholders to study how this mass

of proposed changes will affect long-term planning in our community, as well as our neighbours (Canora, our

neighbour to the north-east with large parcels of RF2 zoning, being one example).

Furthermore, whats being proposed here lacks feedback from market studies, or detailed analysis on how best to

implement, without contravening, the Residential Infill Guidelines.

In our conversations with neighbouring communities, weve seen a wide variety of opinions on issues such as the

placement and design of front-car garages, site coverage and specifics on the splitting of 50 lots. These things

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shouldnt be taken as opposition to redevelopment or change, but simply as meaningful conversation on

development which should stand the test of time for decades.

There is much to gain by referring this Bylaw back for further work and consultation. If theres a belief that

communities have misunderstood the proposals, then give them time and access to administration in order to gain

that understanding. If we are serious about creating meaningful density that truly combats urban sprawl, then

provide administration with direction to conduct market research with those who are currently choosing to live

outward in our city.

Most importantly, the path to quality infill redevelopment, to a productive relationship between all stakeholders -

governmental, private, communal, etc - isnt through reduced consultation, accelerated mass bylaw amendments

and simple assumptions. Its through face-to-face contact between all involved, in order to establish an

environment in which all sides are willing to compromise for a beneficial end goal.

We held a successful workshop this winter, the results of which the EFCL has reported on, where community

members sat across the table from development representatives, and held an impressively beneficial discussion.

The Glenwood CL had the opportunity to contribute to the Elevate Report and the Mayors Taskforce on

Community Sustainability. Through which we saw a strong desire from all sides to discuss and collaborate onredevelopment opportunities and community plans. Its hard to see these progressive collaboration opportunities

coming to fruition when consultation on zoning changes are limited, concerns quickly dismissed, and planning

guidelines are haphazardly implemented in bylaw.

The proposed amendments warrant discussion and review, not just to review their quality, but to debate what

additions could be made - to implementing planning policy, to encouraging productive dialog between

stakeholders, to meeting true market demands, etc.

Give this process time, refer it back to administration and the various stakeholders for further work. It may take

some time, and it may fall on the next Council for implementation, but we dont believe you or future

decision-makers will be disappointed with that choice.

Sincerely,

The Glenwood Community League Executive