Riley Local Area Plan Referred to Administration For More Work By IPC – May Get Worse
The City is continuing to develop a new Riley Local Area Plan (LAP) for our community. This will replace the Hounsfield Heights – Briar Hill Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP), which has guided the redevelopment of our neighbourhood since the 1980s. The City circulated their latest Phase 4 LAP draft online – look at https://engage.calgary.ca/Riley/Realize. Their plan still makes fundamental changes to our community, including six and four storey apartments permitted to replace single-family homes in a significant portion of our community, six storeys permitted below the Hounsfield Heights escarpment, and narrow infill homes permitted throughout.
The initial council hearing on this plan was on October 16, and it did not go well. We spoke about reasonable compromise and the effects on our community, and proposed amendments, but none of our concerns were heard. Rather, some councillors and speakers emphasized that there isn’t enough density imposed on our community. They emphasized the distance from the LRT, as if it is everything, never mind who or what is already there. They are calling for administration to impose up to twelve storeys on our neighbourhood, as they are proposing for Banff Trail currently, and to extend the area for apartments and H-GO much further into our community. They also talk about equity, but I would argue that every existing community that are now near the LRT stations should be respected, and density should be a reasonable compromise between the ideal high density at a station and the original family neighbourhood. I’m not arguing that our neighbourhood should be special, everyone’s forever homes matter! Further, the Municipal Development Plan and Transit Oriented Development guidelines state that existing stable communities should be respected. The MDP says “ensure infill development complements the established character of the area and does not create dramatic contrasts in the physical development pattern”, but neither the current proposal nor suggested changes on referral do this.
At the end of the hearing, the committee voted 4-3 to refer the plan back to administration, with the message to add more density, not less. This referral goes (went) before full council on October 29, and there is some chance that we can get it voted down then. The full plan was to go before council on December 3, but it may not now, if the referral stands. Please come out to the Community Association Annual General Meeting on November 28, to learn more about this issue and what we can do!
The Community Association (CA) understands that some density increase is needed and inevitable. We have been seeking reasonable compromise, that preserves the character, beauty, and environment of our home neighbourhood whilst adding density. We continue to feel that the very high density on the mall site should be balanced with less dense/tall options within the core of the community. We oppose six storey apartments permitted below the Hounsfield Heights escarpment, blocking off the community with excessive height – four storeys here would fit with existing multifamily residences, encourage retention of existing affordable condos, and respect the community and adjacent parks above. We have been asking for phrasing in the LAP to discourage narrow infills, preferring well-designed semi-detached homes that maintain the proportions of the homes around them, to mitigate the effects of increased density on the community character. And we continue to ask for the North Hill Mall plan to explicitly include indoor access to shopping for tower residents.
Community members may wish to consider expressing their opinions directly to council ([email protected], [email protected], our councillor Terry Wong, and similarly for the rest of the 14 councillors – [email protected] etc.), in addition to coming to the Annual General Meeting to discuss the issues. We can discuss and answer questions at [email protected].
Beth Atkinson
Director – Land Use, Hounsfield Heights – Briar Hill Community Association
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