New Council: New Opportunity for Garneau’s Community-Led Plan
Infill came up a lot during the recent election campaign. A new City Council was sworn in last week, and they will likely be looking for ways to build community support for densification.
It’s perfect timing for the Garneau Community League’s proposed amendment to the Scona District Plan. During the last council, Andrew Knack and several other councillors voiced support for community-led planning, particularly in response to contentious rezoning hearings that would have seen another microsuite dropped squarely in the middle of historic 89 Avenue.
Since then, the Garneau Planning Committee has been busy working. Our amendment proposes to expand the existing Garneau Special Character area, currently a handful of blocks in middle Garneau. We hope to add the remaining RS-zoned areas in Garneau, as well as some areas rezoned under the Priority Growth Area process (including the north sides of 81st and 85th Avenues), and select areas of east Garneau.
A second goal of our amendment would be to tighten up design requirements within that expanded area. We want to ensure that infill is compatible with neighbourhood character, while also ensuring that there’s a place for flexible family-style housing, not just micro-suites and lodging houses. We are working with Professor Neal Lamontagne from the U of A’s School of Urban and Regional Planning in developing proposed regulations and design guidelines.
Elections can be polarizing. But they can also provide a fresh start. We believe that Garneau can welcome density in a way that builds community. Our planning work will uphold the principles and structure of the City Plan, while also ensuring infill in our neighbourhood is coherent with our neighbourhood. As part of this project, we have been working with O2 Planning + Design on density mapping, which shows that Garneau already significantly exceeds the City Plan’s density target.
Working together, we believe Garneau will be able to welcome thousands of new residents, while maintaining a diversity of housing stock and that includes maintaining some small-scale options.
We know that there is a lot of passion about this issue. Before finalizing our proposed amendment, we will be asking for your feedback. Our tentative plan is to begin public engagement in early 2026.
Ultimately, we want Council to see what Garneau has to offer - a place to welcome more neighbours without sacrificing the characteristics that make it special. If you’d like to help, we still have room for more Planning Committee members. We will also want help spreading the word about our proposed plan - we’re looking for block captains and building reps to talk to neighbours. Thanks again for your passion!
