Thank you for doing the labour intensive work to visualize the impact and explain things. Extra respect for giving detailed answers to the question comments!
This would not be an issue if rezoning in these older small communities was for row housing and multi family homes but it’s the rezoning for 8 to 26 storey buildings proposed for communities such as Southview that are going to put pressure on the very limited resources such as schools and recreational facilities. The new communities have new recreational facilities and schools in which there is not room to build in these older communities.
The zoning discussed on April 2nd is for updating the base zoning in the city to R-CG; which allows for contextual row houses. This does not include 8-26 storey buildings. Any zoning change still has to have a public hearing to be discussed and changed.
I mean, sure, if you narrow it down to any one of those plots, you'd have 100% conversion. You're in a popular area for uplift. 3.5% of an entire ward (not your ward, though) includes lots of homes, and communities that aren't as likely to see additional homes. You're in Ward 1, which stretches all the way up to the far NW corner of the city, where all the homes are brand new. You can see by the heat map that the further from the core, the less likely it happens on your street.
Only 3.5% of homes will be converted? On my street alone in Bowness we have 3 new duplexes (all with suites in the basement) going up this year and two additional properties converted to 8-plexes on the corners. So 5 of 26 lots converted this year alone, plus two more properties on the street slated for demolition. That’s closer to 19% than 3.5%. This is not minimal impact for me!
Thanks for the comment! There are a few things to keep in mind here:
- This looks only at rowhouses (3-4 units), and doesn't consider R2 (duplex) and R1 (single family) allowed buildings that might be built on an R-CG zoned lot.
- This is a model, and as such as Darren mentioned there's bound to be variation within areas, streets, or communities. It also depends on many other factors not modelled. This is just to get a sense of what the spread out effect is likely to be.
So you can have 8 residence’s on one lot? Where are you going to have parking and / or green space for these places? Also, does the city have any plans to increase water or electricity for the increased population?
Thanks for the question! The city has been asked about impacts to infrastructure, and I encourage you to go seek out their answers as I don't want to speak on their behalf. My take is the growth is gentle and spread out and likely won't need much in terms of upgrades, but if they do the city can support that change. Having more homes also makes it less of a tax issue as it's much better to split the bill four ways instead of one!
We have lots of tools and techniques to manage parking - in fact we dedicate a LOT of our city space to unused parking. Proper pricing and permitting can help.
As for green space, I think there are lots of great green places in our city to spend time - not everyone wants or needs a backyard, and I would certainly welcome more greenspaces in our community! And it's important to remember that these buildings are contextual - meaning they have setbacks that provide greenspace and can be designed to allow for gathering areas also.
Hey Char - The City answered your question about utilities infrastructure in their recent FAQ post. To paraphrase, most communities, but especially those built before 1980, are well below their peak population, meaning there is ample space to grow. Additionally, new homes being built today are much more energy efficient, meaning there is capacity to allow for more homes within the current infrastructure.
And regarding green space, many people struggling to find reliable housing (my family included) would gladly trade green space for something more affordable in the neighborhood we’re connected to. Having moved here from Vancouver, I can assure you that utilizing community parks and green spaces for dinners and gatherings with friends is a really beautiful way to get to really know your neighbours. All this to say, some people may want a yard and that’s totally ok, but plenty of us are fine without having a lawn to mow.
Very cool! I like the article, it's great and nicely summarizes things!
Thank you for doing the labour intensive work to visualize the impact and explain things. Extra respect for giving detailed answers to the question comments!
This would not be an issue if rezoning in these older small communities was for row housing and multi family homes but it’s the rezoning for 8 to 26 storey buildings proposed for communities such as Southview that are going to put pressure on the very limited resources such as schools and recreational facilities. The new communities have new recreational facilities and schools in which there is not room to build in these older communities.
Hi Janet, thank for your comments!
The zoning discussed on April 2nd is for updating the base zoning in the city to R-CG; which allows for contextual row houses. This does not include 8-26 storey buildings. Any zoning change still has to have a public hearing to be discussed and changed.
Hope that clarifies!
I mean, sure, if you narrow it down to any one of those plots, you'd have 100% conversion. You're in a popular area for uplift. 3.5% of an entire ward (not your ward, though) includes lots of homes, and communities that aren't as likely to see additional homes. You're in Ward 1, which stretches all the way up to the far NW corner of the city, where all the homes are brand new. You can see by the heat map that the further from the core, the less likely it happens on your street.
Only 3.5% of homes will be converted? On my street alone in Bowness we have 3 new duplexes (all with suites in the basement) going up this year and two additional properties converted to 8-plexes on the corners. So 5 of 26 lots converted this year alone, plus two more properties on the street slated for demolition. That’s closer to 19% than 3.5%. This is not minimal impact for me!
Thanks for the comment! There are a few things to keep in mind here:
- This looks only at rowhouses (3-4 units), and doesn't consider R2 (duplex) and R1 (single family) allowed buildings that might be built on an R-CG zoned lot.
- This is a model, and as such as Darren mentioned there's bound to be variation within areas, streets, or communities. It also depends on many other factors not modelled. This is just to get a sense of what the spread out effect is likely to be.
So you can have 8 residence’s on one lot? Where are you going to have parking and / or green space for these places? Also, does the city have any plans to increase water or electricity for the increased population?
Thanks for the question! The city has been asked about impacts to infrastructure, and I encourage you to go seek out their answers as I don't want to speak on their behalf. My take is the growth is gentle and spread out and likely won't need much in terms of upgrades, but if they do the city can support that change. Having more homes also makes it less of a tax issue as it's much better to split the bill four ways instead of one!
We have lots of tools and techniques to manage parking - in fact we dedicate a LOT of our city space to unused parking. Proper pricing and permitting can help.
As for green space, I think there are lots of great green places in our city to spend time - not everyone wants or needs a backyard, and I would certainly welcome more greenspaces in our community! And it's important to remember that these buildings are contextual - meaning they have setbacks that provide greenspace and can be designed to allow for gathering areas also.
Hey Char - The City answered your question about utilities infrastructure in their recent FAQ post. To paraphrase, most communities, but especially those built before 1980, are well below their peak population, meaning there is ample space to grow. Additionally, new homes being built today are much more energy efficient, meaning there is capacity to allow for more homes within the current infrastructure.
And regarding green space, many people struggling to find reliable housing (my family included) would gladly trade green space for something more affordable in the neighborhood we’re connected to. Having moved here from Vancouver, I can assure you that utilizing community parks and green spaces for dinners and gatherings with friends is a really beautiful way to get to really know your neighbours. All this to say, some people may want a yard and that’s totally ok, but plenty of us are fine without having a lawn to mow.