Important city-wide policy changes are underway that will affect all communities and properties in Calgary
Written by Lisa Chong, HSCA Planning
The Hillhurst Sunnyside Area Redevelopment Plan (http://bit.ly/HS_ARP) has served the community since 1988 and went through a major revision in 2009. Local Area Plans, such as our ARP are meant to be reviewed and updated every 10-15 years. For the most part, the new, larger midrise buildings have generally developed very close to the vision outlined in the 2009 Transit Oriented Development policies in terms of heights, densities, setbacks from the street and building shapes.
HSCA Community Planning has provided a summary of new city-wide planning policy changes below. Keep in mind this is based on the most current information available – these projects are subject to change based on City Council’s direction.
#1: Multi Community Planning (MCP): This year, Hillhurst Sunnyside and our neighbouring communities of West Hillhurst (east of Crowchild Trail) and Hounsfield Heights/Briar Hill will be transitioning to the City of Calgary’s new Multi Community Planning model. Three other districts are also currently going through the MCP process: the North Hill, Westbrook and Heritage [Drive] communities. 42 districts in Calgary will be captured in the MCP process over the next ten years.
Our current ARP provides detailed residential land use policies with specific design recommendations defined for seven Residential Character Areas based on unique site characteristics. The ARP also provides policy direction on promoting a diverse housing mix, a vibrant commercial district, open space, consideration for schools, transportation, social considerations, urban design initiatives, people-friendly streetscape design and heritage conservation.
It is important to understand that the Hillhurst Sunnyside ARP will be superseded by the new MCP and the Guidebook’s (see #2) new general classifications and new “overlays” on how land is used and redeveloped.
Public engagement will take place through online and in-person engagements. Through this process, a working group committee will be struck consisting of community association members, community residents, local business and development industry representatives.
02/26/2020 Update | Local Area Growth Planning / Multi Community Planning for Area 4 will start in April.
#2: Guidebook for Great Communities (GGC): The City has adopted its new Guidebook for Great Communities, which directs how existing and new communities will evolve and grow. The Guidebook is statutory policy that provides guidance on how future development looks like.
The new Guidebook establishes Multi-Community Local Area Plans based on geographic location, natural boundaries and major roads. These district-scale plans are based on activities of people and how they move around and access amenities (such as parks, schools, shopping and services), which are not tied to their local community boundaries. The City also plans to tie public infrastructure upgrades, such as for parks, sidewalks, pathways, underground utilities, civic facilities and roads that span different neighbourhoods (see #4).
Hillhurst Sunnyside is a diverse and mixed-demographic community that has a range of land uses from single-family homes to condos/apartments. In the residential community context, much of the housing on the western and eastern ends of our community is generally zoned as RC-2 and categorized as “low density conservation” within the ARP (this allows single or duplex housing with secondary suites). The area between 14th Street and 5A Street is generally zoned as M-CG, (this allows for multi-unit lower profile housing based on the size of the parcel and allowable density), while higher and denser buildings are allowable on the Main Streets.
Currently, developers/applicants seeking to build more units in larger buildings in lower density areas require a Land Use Amendment process (rezoning the land). Through the Guidebook, a new urban form classification system will be created and applied through the Multi Community Planning process.
For example: within the Neighbourhood Housing Local classification, low density residential buildings (up to three storeys) can be built in the Limited Scale modifier.This means that larger and denser rowhouses can be built next to single detached houses or 3-storey infill houses can be built next to one-storey bungalows; this form of development has already taken place in our community in recent years.
Guidebook for Great Communities, City of Calgary (September 2019) | Limited Scale Policies | Page 80
02/2/20 Update for Clarity | The Land Use Bylaw and zoning still applies and would not result in a more intense use of the land with the arrival of the Guidebook and Multi Community Plans. If an applicant wishes to build a larger building or use the land differently, a Land Use Amendment is needed and the community has the opportunity to provide comments to decision-makers.
Read the GGC at www.calgary.ca/guidebook. The GCC will be tested in the second quarter of 2020 through the Multi Community Plans. All statutory documents (such as the Hillhurst Sunnyside ARP) will eventually fall under the Multi Community Plans and the Guidebook.
#3: Toward a Renewed Land Use Bylaw: The City is currently working on a new Land Use Bylaw. The current LUB 1P2007 is now 13 years old, has over 200 unique Land Use Districts, 61 standard districts and over 3,000 direct control districts. The City seeks to move away from the current restrictions to a more flexible zoning approach aligned with future City policy direction.
#4: Established Areas Growth and Change Strategy (EAGCS): The City of Calgary has recently reached out to stakeholders in communities where redevelopment is either imminent or already underway. The EAGCS seeks to support areas with population growth through public investments.
The City has identified short-term improvement projects supporting the public realm and infrastructure (sidewalks, public plazas, traffic calming on roadways, etc.) and larger, longer-term projects as more redevelopment occurs.
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It is important that the impacts of intensification and densification in our vibrant, mixed demographic inner city community are balanced against the larger city-wide policies. At the same time, retaining the characteristics that the community values, and improving the quality of life in our walkable urban village. It is also important to recognize the heritage and cultural assets in our 115-year old changing neighbourhood as this transition takes place.
2020 is the year where Calgarians will navigate these major city-wide changes and find out how the various policy initiatives will affect your property and/or your neighbourhood. You can search for more information or updates on the City of Calgary website at www.calgary.ca. Please also follow HSCA Community Planning online at https://hsca-community-planning.mn.co.
Interested in getting involved? Get in touch with the Hillhurst Sunnyside Planning Committee – contact Lisa Chong, Community Planning & Engagement Coordinator at lisa.c@hsca.ca or show up to one of our monthly meetings. We meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 7pm at the HSCA.