Dec 12, 2018
Thursday, Dec 13, 2018. Update: I’ve been made aware that my initial understanding of the history of this lot was wrong. The 1997 rezoning application was not for 352 Primrose, but for 300 Primrose—two lots south of the one in question. The ‘History of Primrose Drive’ section has changed substantially in light of this new information.
352 Primrose Drive SE is a three acre parcel of city owned land in the Connaught neighbourhood. It is currently zoned as Open Space in the city’s land use bylaw. The types of development currently permitted within this designation are fairly broad. It may contain landscaped parks and natural areas, but also government and recreational facilities. There are also additional discretionary uses that may be permitted depending on certain conditions. These discretionary uses include:
Campgrounds
Cemeteries
Community Centres
Cultural Facilities
These permitted uses aren’t exactly what is implied by its pastoral sounding classification title. City council is in the midst of debating an application to change the land use classification of this property from Open Space to Medium Density Residential.
The property in question is outlined in red.
Rezoning Applications
Every plot of land within the city has a land use designation assigned to it. You can see what every property is designated here. Each designation outlines the range of development permitted. This helps separate land uses that may conflict with one another. For example, a factory in the middle of a residential neighbourhood would not be ideal. The land use bylaw also helps the city grow in a guided fashion and gives residents the long term vision of where their neighbourhood and city is going.
Because people’s investment in their home or commercial property are likely their biggest investment in their lives it’s important that people understand how their neighbourhood may evolve.
Neighbourhoods may also have specific area plans. For instance, council is in the midst of adopting a long term vision for the Riverside neighbourhood. The city intends to create neighbourhood plans for each area of the city, but not every neighbourhood has one yet. Unfortunately, Connaught does not making the additional guidance from neighbourhood plans unavailable for council on this decision.
Occasionally, however, there may be the need or desire to rezone property. Like any decision there is a process for deliberating rezoning applications.
Anyone who owns their property can initiate a rezoning application to change its classification. Any land use change must involve public input and a review by the planning department. It is a costly and time intensive process reflected in the fee for a rezoning application—$4,573.95.
This image is not up to date. We are now further along the line at the “Decision by City Council” stage.
Process: How did we get here?
Interest was expressed in this property by several developers. The Land and Business Support Department then worked with the Planning and Development Services Department (Planning Department) to review the suitability of this request and initiate the application process.
Land and Business Support is following a directive from council’s strategic plan to sell land inventory that is not part of the city’s land development strategy nor required for municipal purposes, with a focus on intensification and private development. The city wasn’t actively marketing this lot, but is always open to any request.
The Planning Department reviewed the property and determined that it was suitable for Medium Density Residential development. The criteria the Planning Department used looks simply at the existing and available infrastructure adjacent to the lot. It does not necessarily indicate that Medium Density Residential Development would be good for the neighbourhood. That is a political judgment call for council to make.
With this reclassification proposal the city then held a public information session for the Connaught Neighbourhood on September 5, 2018. The results were overwhelmly against this application—92% opposed. The survey results are one part of what council will weigh in making this decision.
Process: What steps remain?
First reading passed on November 19, but the second reading on Monday, December 17, is the crucial one. In order for council to debate anything a motion must first be on the table, but at the second reading we will actually debate this proposed land use amendment. There will also be a mandatory public hearing. A public hearing provides members of the public a chance to state their support or opposition to the bylaw in question. This information provides additional information to council to assist them when voting on the proposed bylaw. During second reading council may also propose alternative amendments. Third reading may be held the same night or may be held at the next council meeting. It’s rare that council members change their vote between the second and third readings.
If the recommended reclassification is passed the property would still have to be sold. Then a developer works with the Planning Department to proceed with developing the site. Any development that falls within this classification definition would be permitted and no more council participation is required.
If this is not approved the property will remain as Open Space.
Déjà Vu
Residents have pointed out to me that we’ve been here before. In 1997, council debated a similar rezoning application for an adjacent property 300 Primrose Drive SE, two lots south of 352 Primrose Drive.
Image from council meeting minutes. February 18, 1997.
The Alberta Social Housing Corporation had built a number of social housing properties in the community including Primrose Villa at 316 Primrose Drive SE—a social housing facility for older adults. The Alberta Social Housing Corporation had some excess property and applied to rezone 300 Primrose from PS to R3 (These are the previous land use designations.) I believe PS stands for Public Services, typically for facilities, which would make sense since Primrose Villa was built under this designation. R3 was higher density classification and an apartment building was proposed. The motion was defeated at council. The designation remained the same, with a church ultimately being constructed on the lot.
I don’t have any information for previous land use changes proposed for 352 Primrose other than the short lived plan to relocate the Veiner Centre here.
At the time of conception a portion of a new neighbourhood is set aside for Environmental Reserve (ER) and Municipal Reserve (MR). These are not land use zoning classifications, but designations that appear on the land title—making it difficult to change. Or at least harder than council simply rezoning it.
For instance, the land to the west of 352 Primrose Drive is designated Environmental Reserve, but importantly the lot in question isn’t designated either ER or MR. To me that indicates the question of development on this lot was open. Now obviously Medium Density Residential wasn’t the intended use, but neither is it fair to characterize this lot as an obvious park.
The question has never been settled and of course in the absence of development the neighbourhood has become accustomed to this green space and it become a de facto green space/park.
Concerns
I have met with a number of residents in their homes and been taken on walks around this beautiful neighbourhood. There are a number of concerns.
Loss of Green Space
The primary concern is the loss of this open space. On the face of it, Connaught neighbourhood has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to greenery. But the reality doesn’t match first impressions.
1. Much of the green areas surrounding the neighbourhood to the south comes from the Connaught Golf Course. This may be pretty to look at, but isn’t accessible to the public.
2. The majority of the remaining green space is taken up with the pond and coulee—beautiful, but again not particularly useable. In comparison 352 Primrose Drive SE is a flat open irrigated grass field. There’s no question any development here would mean a loss of useable green space.
Increased Traffic
Secondary to the loss of green space was the fear of increased traffic. Residents have shared with me the difficulty of turning onto College Drive from Primrose Drive or entering College Drive from driveways along this street because of the steadily increasing traffic. I don’t doubt that traffic is bad on this street.
An aerial view makes plain why this is the case. The neighbourhood is sandwiched between some major centres of our city. Directly to the west is Medicine Hat College, one of the main hubs of activity in Medicine Hat. To the east is Dunmore Road and 13th Avenue—two major corridors. Additionally, the quickest access to Hwy 1 from Dunmore Road and parts of 13th Ave is also through this neighbourhood. College Drive is a key connector between these areas. The reality is that regardless of whether this land use amendment passes traffic will continue to increase on College Drive. Development on this property may increase traffic, but it will be marginal in comparison to the long term increase we’ll see as the college, 13th Ave and Dunmore Road areas continue to grow.
Now, there may be need for traffic calming measures to reduce traffic noise and increase pedestrian safety in this neighbourhood, but there’s no getting around the long term traffic issue.
A lot of residents have lived here for 30+ years and remember how things used to be. The reality is that the city has grown (and will continue to grow) around this neighbourhood. The silver lining for these homeowners is that their homes will be some of the most valuable in Medicine Hat. A quiet neighbourhood surrounded by green space in the heart of a city.
High water table
Residents have also questioned the suitability of development on this parcel. Many have experienced basement flooding and have expensive installations of sump pumps and weeping tile to mitigate the high water table in the area. This maybe an issue, but ultimately would have to be dealt with by the architects and developers. Council’s decision does not hinge on this factor.
Waste of Taxpayers money
Two years ago the city rehabilitated this field at considerable expense. The field had been used as a laydown area for nearby construction and was torn up. The city responded to neighbourhood concerns and installed irrigated turf. Residents are irritated that council would be so quick to tear up this expensive and newly created beautiful lawn.
This was the first question council asked when staff presented us with this idea. However, we don’t get to decide what private enterprise wants to develop. We live in a free market. Government doesn’t choose what developments to build. We can only debate those that are brought to us. Now we may try to steer developers to other lots, but ultimately they decide what projects to propose.
Medium Density Residential
There is also concern regarding the proposed Medium Density Residential designation because should this amendment pass it’s not clear what type of development would occur. Here’s a quick description on what a medium density residential designation means and the permitted range of development. The preferred use is townhouses, but an apartment building maybe permitted.
The case for development
While there is no question the neighbourhood is against this application, upon closer inspection the opposition is not uniform.
Three years ago the city explored the idea of building the new seniors centre on this property. Council ultimately changed their mind and renovated the flood damaged Veiner Centre instead. Though not on council, I followed this issue and do not recall opposition to this idea. Perhaps some would have been opposed had the idea become more concrete, but others were okay with the idea of a seniors centre at 352 Primrose Drive.
So perhaps it’s not opposition to any development, but rather some kinds of development.
Other options for council
Direct Control
I think intensified development could be a suitable for this neighbourhood. The lot has suitable infrastructure in place. It’s located next to a bus stop. It’s centrally located in between busy corridors in the city. For me, understanding the history of this area and property it’s a reasonable use. Yes, there is a loss of some green space, but more people in the area also adds to a neighbourhood’s vibrancy.
However, I understand why there is opposition to the Medium Density Residential classification— there are too many unknowns and that causes anxiety. So one option is to get more clarity before we decide. Rezoning this property to Direct Control would accomplish this.
Direct Control increases the range of what development may occur (anything), but it gives council the ultimate decision on the development permit. This classification is more onerous for developers and is typically reserved for important properties.
Direct Control adds another layer of difficulty for potential developers, but perhaps not too much to ask considering the sensitivity of this property. As an analogous case, staff are also requesting direct control for the Riverside School property in the proposed Riverside Neighbourhood Plan. Both properties are central to their respective neighbourhoods and could warrant an extra layer of scrutiny.
Afterall we do have plenty of medium density residential lots available elsewhere. Obviously this lot is a desirable place to build so let’s see what development is actually proposed before we decide. It’s also a challenge to the developers. This is a beautiful neighbourhood. If you want to build here show us something beautiful.
2. Conditions at the time of sale
Council could also place conditions at the time of sale. As the owner of the property, regardless of what classification is decided on, council can place any number of conditions on the property. If we agree that an apartment building would not be appropriate for this development, but townhouses would be council could simply make the sale contingent on this development. While accomplishing a similar end to Direct Control there is less transparency with this option.
3. Municipal Reserve
For residents that would like to protect this green space more permanently here’s what needs to happen. There is a motion currently on the table. That will need to be defeated first. Then council will need to direct staff to take the necessary steps to register the property as Municipal Reserve.
Who gets to decide?
Does council have a duty to follow the wishes of the immediate neighbourhood? What if this development would be good for the city, but bad for the neighbourhood? How does council know what everyone’s wishes are?
This is the tricky part of democracy and requires a judgment call on the part of each member of council.
Infill Developments
For many residents of the Connaught neighbourhood it is inconceivable why council would entertain this proposal, but there are good reasons why this issue continues to come up across the city. Simply put infill development rejuvenates mature neighbourhoods and adds to the long term sustainability of Medicine Hat.
Yet, infill proposals are often fraught with controversy because they do change neighbourhoods. In this case the short term harm is obvious, any benefits are harder to articulate and envision. It’s not hard to understand why greenfield developments outstrip infill developments in Medicine Hat. But the alternative is continuing growth on the edges of town, leading to the hollowing out of mature neighbourhoods. Riverside is an example. With population moving to other parts of the city the school division closed Riverside School—replaced with schools on the southside. With less people in the neighbourhood there was also less reason to keep Heald Pool open.
Now this doesn’t mean that every infill development is a good idea. It doesn’t mean that infill on this Primrose lot is a good idea, but I think it’s important that every proposal gets a fair shake. For those unhappy with my position on this issue, I’d like to remind them that I ran specifically on this idea—Develop our city inward, not outward.
These are hard conversations to have. But the better we understand the process, the better we understand how to clearly talk of the competing values and tradeoffs, the better we’ll get at it. This is a puzzle that every city faces. For additional reading on this subject see Colin Gallant’s excellent editorial.
One of the more unusual comments from a resident concerned the walkability of the neighbourhood. Since Connaught is bounded by major roads there was no place their children could walk without crossing a major road. While they are against development they also thought a convenience store or small grocery store would be welcome on this lot. Neighbourhood amenities, currently lacking, that their children could safely walk to. It underscores how different our perspectives are. I understand emotions are high, but it’s a good reminder that we all want what’s best for our city though our ideas may vary widely.
If we can’t all agree, we can make an effort to mitigate the downsides of any decision.
I wish we had a neighbourhood plan in place. This would have helped guide our decision by situating this proposal with the long term vision for the neighbourhood. In lieu, I think Direct Control might be the best option to allow us to judge any specific development idea on its merits. But as always I keep an open mind until the moment I cast my vote.
Ultimately I believe this a design problem.
I have lived in cities across Canada. Most of the time in neighbourhoods of mixed developments with single family houses, next to townhouses and small apartment buildings. While some buildings weren’t particularly attractive, others were, but it didn’t break along building type. Some apartment buildings and townhouses were far more beautiful than the single family houses on the same street. It really depends on what gets built.
Consider this a challenge to the developers and architects. Design something beautiful. None of those examples in the Medium Density Residential description are particularly beautiful. The future depends on beautiful higher density housing that people want to live in and want to live next to. Local architects will need to rise to the task.