When Richmond/Knob Hill was originally developed in the 1950s it was essentially a suburban residential community on the outskirts of Calgary. Row after row of modest bungalows were built on 50ft wide lots laid out in a modified grid pattern. Commercial development was confined to the 17th Avenue and 33rd Avenue strips, plus a few small pockets here and there.

Fast forward 60 or so years and RKH is now an inner-city community which is experiencing significant redevelopment activity. Many of those 60-year old bungalows have been demolished and replaced with a pair of 2- or 3-storey single or semi-detached homes on subdivided 25ft wide lots. The shops on 17th Avenue and 33rd Avenue are gradually being replaced with 3 to 10-storey commercial, multi-residential or mixed-use buildings.

RKH’s old bungalows were a very adaptable form of housing — affordable for first-time home buyers and young families, suitable for families with older children (who often ended up in basement bedrooms), not too large for empty nesters, and few stairs so easy on the knees for seniors — but they were not a very efficient use of land. The new 2- and 3-storey infills on 25ft wide lots use land  more efficiently, but they are larger, less affordable, and full of stairs, so not particularly senior-friendly. If RKH’s bungalows continue to be replaced by 2- and 3-storey infills, there is a risk that our community will end up with relatively few housing options which are affordable or suitable for seniors. This could leave us with relatively little demographic diversity -- lots of upper middle class “double income no kid” couples and empty nesters, but not very many young adults, young families or seniors.

One view is that we should make an effort to preserve our community’s demographic and economic diversity and the ability of our residents to “age in place" by seeking opportunities to have more affordable, family-friendly and senior-friendly housing options built here, instead of just more tall, skinny, expensive infills. Another view is that it is perfectly okay for RKH to become a community of tall, skinny, expensive infills, and that those seeking more affordable, family-friendly and senior-friendly housing options can find them in neighbouring communities or elsewhere.

What do you think? 

In April members of the RKHCA Development Committee, as well as representatives from our neighbouring communities of Killarney/Glengarry, Rutland Park/Currie Barracks and South Calgary/Altadore/Garrison Woods and from the Marda Loop Business Improvement Association (BIA) met with representatives from Calgary Transit to receive an update on the Southwest BRT, and provide feedback thereon.  If you participated in the City’s online public engagement process for the Southwest BRT back in February/March you may have noticed some of the same things that gave us cause for concern, including:

1.  Although the route map still showed a red “station” dot at the Crowchild Trail and 33 Avenue SW interchange (the “33 Avenue Stations”), that dot was now labelled as the Currie Barracks station, instead of as the Marda Loop station, and there was no longer a red “station” dot in Currie Barracks; and 

2.  Despite the fact that the website indicated that construction of the portion of the route north of Glenmore Trail would begin this year, there was still no information to be found regarding various key issues relating to the 33 Avenue Stations, including:

• exactly where the NB and SB stations would be located, and what they would look like;
• what changes, if any, would be made to the Crowchild Trail and 33 Avenue SW interchange to make it safer and more comfortable for Southwest BRT users to walk and cycle across;
• whether secure bike parking would be available at the 33 Avenue Stations; and
• exactly where the new Quesnay Woods Drive coming north out of Currie Barracks would intersect with 33 Avenue SW, and what type of intersection it would be.

We feel that well designed and conveniently located BRT stations at the Crowchild Trail and 33 Avenue SW interchange are key to supporting the higher-density and mixed-use development that is planned for the Marda Loop business district — we want all those Marda Loop area residents and employees to have convenient access to high-quality transit so that they don’t all feel the need to drive cars to and from home and work in Marda Loop.  We also feel that convenient access to high-quality transit in Currie Barracks is critically important to minimize the traffic impact of the thousands of people that will soon live and work in that new high-density mixed use community.  So what were we to take from the disappearance of the red “station” dot in Currie Barracks and the renaming of the red “station” dot at Crowchild Trail and 33 Avenue SW — was the City looking to save money by locating a single pair of BRT stations part way between Marda Loop and Currie Barracks, instead of giving each activity centre its own pair of stations?  If so, then neither activity centre would end up with convenient access to high-quality transit, with the result that most residents and workers in both areas would end up driving, making area traffic and parking congestion even worse.

The updated information presented at the meeting included the following:

1.  The current plan is to have the Southwest BRT up and running by the end of 2018;

2.  There are still plans for Currie Barracks to have its own BRT stations at Quesnay Woods Drive and Flanders Avenue, and for Quesnay Woods Drive to be extended north to intersect with 33 Avenue SW, but given the current economic conditions those portions of the Southwest BRT route will be deferred until sufficient development has been constructed and occupied in Currie Barracks to warrant it;

3.  Until such time as Currie Barracks comes “on line” and the Quesnay Woods Drive extension has been built, the Southwest BRT buses will bypass that area and instead use the new Flanders interchange to travel between the 33 Avenue Stations and the Mount Royal University stations;

4.  The NB 33 Avenue Station will:

• be located part way down the ramp from 33 Avenue SW onto NB Crowchild Trail, adjacent to the “bulb” at the end of 32 Avenue SW (see image below -- the NB station is neither circled nor labelled, so you will have to look closely to see it);
• be located on the Crowchild Trail side of the sound wall and accessed through a gap in the sound wall located part way between the station and 33 Avenue SW;
• have a partially open/partially sheltered design (see image below), and include one or more bike racks; and
• be constructed in early 2018;

5.  The SB 33 Avenue Station will:

• be located on WB 33 Avenue SW, 1/2 block or so west of the Crowchild Trail interchange (see image below -- the SB station is circled in red and labelled "Future Station");
• have the same partially open/partially sheltered design, and include one or more bike racks; and
• not be constructed until Currie Barracks comes “on line” and the Quesnay Woods Drive extension has been built, so until that time SB BRT buses will use the existing bus stop at the top of the ramp from SB Crowchild Trail to 33 Avenue SW (circled in green and labelled "Temporary Station" in the image below);

6.  No changes are currently contemplated to make the Crowchild Trail and 33 Avenue SW interchange safer and more comfortable for pedestrians or cyclists to cross; and

7.  In terms of parking restrictions on the streets adjacent to the 33 Avenue Stations the plan is to “wait and see” to what extent complaints are received from the residents in those areas once the Southwest BRT is up and running. 

Our feedback to Calgary Transit included stressing the importance of both Marda Loop and Currie Barracks having convenient access to high-quality transit and expressing concern that the proposed locations of the 33 Avenue Stations (particularly the SB station, which will be in the middle of nowhere and require BRT users to cross two dangerous right slip lanes to get to or from the Marda Loop business district) and the lack of any plan to make the Crowchild Trail and 33 Avenue SW interchange safer and more comfortable for people to walk and cycle across, will make it less likely for Marda Loop residents and workers to use it, leading to more cars and congestion on our streets.  We asked Jeff Speck, the author of the bestselling book “Walkable City:  How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time” about incorporating BRT stations into a freeway interchange adjacent to a Main Street and he recommended that the stations be located very close to the Main Street, so that the walk to it was excellent and not exposed to the freeway — we are concerned that the current plan will not achieve those key objectives.

Unless you never leave your house, this issue will affect your day-to-day life as this area continues to densify, so we encourage you to become engaged and make your thoughts on this issue known to Calgary Transit, to the current Ward 8 and Ward 11 Councillors, and to all candidates for Councillor in the new Ward 8 (with its adjusted boundaries) in the upcoming 2017 municipal election.

The City of Calgary's Main Street initiative has identified 24 streets in Calgary as "Main Streets", and is looking to encourage growth and vibrancy along those streets and in the surrounding areas. The community of Richmond/Knob Hill is bordered by two such Main Streets, being 17 Avenue SW and 33 Avenue SW. The City has selected the area along the portion of 17 Avenue SW that runs from Crowchild Trail to 37 Street SW as one of the first areas to be assessed by the Main Streets group. Several Open Houses were held last year to obtain public input, and taking into account that input the Main Streets group is now proposing to create two new mixed-use land use districts for use along Main Streets, and then to rezone properties located along 17 Avenue SW to these new land use districts, and to up-zone properties in the adjacent area to allow higher density developments. 

The two new mixed-use land use districts are proposed as follows:

1. Mixed Use – Flexible (MU-1) District
   

2.  Mixed Use – Commercial (MU-2) District

Development supported in both of these districts would typically consist of street-oriented midrise buildings between four and six storeys in height and generally not exceeding ten storeys. The proposed districts focus regulation on the interface of the building with the street rather than on the floor area of uses. Design standards at the street level include requirements for clear glazing at eye level, maximum frontage length per use, and individual entrances for each use. Requirements include a building stepback on street facing facades for buildings that are taller than six storeys in height. On upper storeys, separation distances for windows, balconies and towers provide access to light and air. When new buildings back onto a lower scale residential property, an angular plane steps the building height down to minimize visual mass and shadowing.

The City-initiated rezoning of properties along 17 Avenue SW and adjacent areas is proposed to include the following:

1. properties along the south side of 17 Avenue SW:

2.  properties on the remainder of the first block south of 17 Avenue SW will generally retain their existing M-C1 zoning, which has a 14m (3 - 4 storey) height limit;

3.  properties immediately south of 19 Avenue SW would generally be rezoned to R-CG with an 11m (3 storey) height limit; and

4.  properties on the north side of 17 Avenue SW from 24 Street SW to 29 Street SW would generally be rezoned to MU-1 with a 22m (5 - 6 storey) height limit, and the next properties to the north would generally be rezoned to R-CG with a 11m (3 storey) height limit.

The RKHCA Development Committee is concerned that allowing 22m - 26m tall buildings (similar to the 23m/6 storey tall Shoppers Drug Mart building in Marda Loop) along this stretch of 17 Avenue SW, and particularly along the south side, will result in a "Main Street" that is not "human scale" and is in shadow much of the year, and therefore not a place where people are likely to want to spend time year round. Rather than putting the tallest building heights right on 17 Avenue SW we would prefer to see them set further back, such as in the middle of the first block south of 17 Avenue, tapering down to 3 - 4 storeys on the south side of 17 Avenue SW. This would allow 17 Avenue SW to retain a more human scale and would allow more sunlight to reach the sidewalk on the north side of the street during the shoulder seasons. We have communicated this concern and suggestion to the City's Main Streets group, but to no avail.

The changes proposed by the City's Main Streets group are scheduled to go to the Calgary Planning Commission on February 23, to the Standing Policy Committee on Planning and Urban Development on March 8 and then to City Council for a public hearing on April 10. We encourage residents of Richmond/Knob Hill to learn more by going to calgary.ca/mainstreets and then share their views on these proposed changes with Ward 8 Councillor Even Woolley and the rest of City Council either at or in advance of the public hearing.

The Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB) has now issued its written decision in respect of RKHCA's appeal of the approved development permit for a 5-storey, 135-unit condo development at 2418 33 AV SW.

As you may recall, the issues raised in the appeal included:

The SDAB decision allowed the RKHCA's appeal in part by requiring the following changes to be made to the plans for the proposed development:

That's it.

No changes to address the excessive density/intensity.

No changes to address the excessive size/mass.

No changes to address the excessive overshadowing of adjacent single family homes.

No changes to address the inadequate public realm.

No changes to address the lack of main floor retail/commercial, or even future convertibility to retail/commercial.

No changes to address the traffic, vehicle access and transit issues.

Wow….

Apparently, it doesn't matter that the proposed development fails to comply with several key provisions of the MLARP, and fails to even come close to satisfying the overall "vision" for the Marda Loop business district, as set out in Section 2.1 of the MLARP (annotations added):

“Marda Loop is envisioned to become a vibrant, successful area that will cater to both residents and visitors alike. Through mixed-use development (NO) and modest increases in density (NO), the area will incorporate a desirable mix of residences (NO), shops (NO), and offices (NO) that enhance the livability of the area during the day (NO) and at night (NO). A high standard of urban design will respect the existing community character through human-scaled buildings (NO) and by providing sensitive transitions to the adjacent residential streets (NO). The area will feature a pleasant, walkable public realm (NO) with wide sidewalks (NO), street trees (A FEW), attractive lighting (NO) and street furniture (NO). Marda Loop will continue to be a desirable place to live, work and play (QUESTIONABLE).”

This is the first major development proposal to be submitted for approval since the MLARP was approved by City Council in 2014, and therefore is the first major development that should have been designed to comply with the MLARP vision and requirements. Unfortunately, this developer decided not to follow the MLARP vision, but rather to maximize both the size of the building and the total number of units. That is disappointing, but not entirely unexpected, as developers are business people and as such maximizing profits is often their primary objective. What is incredibly disappointing is that neither City Administration, nor Ward 8 Councillor Woolley, Ward 11 Councillor Pincott and the rest of City Council, nor the SDAB were willing to step up and require this developer to change their plans to make the proposed development consistent with the MLARP vision.

If you get the sense that we are unhappy, you are correct. The MLARP may not be a very robust Area Redevelopment Plan, as it was developed through what was referred to as an "ARP-lite" process rather than a full and proper ARP process. However, the MLARP is (at least in part) the product of considerable public and community engagement, and at the moment is all we have to work with to help the Marda Loop business district achieve its potential and become a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly Main Street. To see City Administration, City Council and the SDAB allow this developer to run roughshod over the MLARP is just heartbreaking, and hugely disrespectful to the Richmond and Marda Loop communities.

We will leave you with a couple of questions to ponder. Why does the City bother taking communities through the costly and time-consuming process of putting Area Redevelopment Plans in place if it doesn't care whether developers pay attention to them or not? And why didn't our Ward 8 and Ward 11 City Councillors do more to defend the MLARP's vision for the Marda Loop business district?