January 24 Public Hearing
Members of the Garneau Community League Planning Committee and other members of our community spoke at the January 24 Public Hearing regarding Bylaw 21025, which proposed rezoning 10948 89 Ave from RS to RM h16.0.
At the request of the Garneau Community League, Council postponed a decision on the rezoning. After some debate over an official rationale for the delay, Council ultimately asked Administration to compare RSM12 zoning to the proposed RM16.
We do not expect Administration will recommend RSM12 zoning, nor is it a direction we’re interested in pursuing. However, the delay gives us more time to advocate for our preferred solution: a custom zone that addresses two crucial issues:
Compatibility with heritage: Given the intrinsic value of heritage streets in Garneau, we want to ensure new developments on these streets are complementary to that character. Some very simple design regulations would address this concern without adding to building costs.
Adaptability for multi-person households: To ensure new housing remains flexible and resilient, we would like new ground-oriented housing to include multi-person dwellings. Regulations related to bedrooms and bathrooms, and access to amenity areas would ensure new developments would be flexible enough for families or shared living space.
As a way forward, we’re proposing new zoning based on the existing RS zone. This means it would maintain the current development potential (in terms of building size and multiple units), while addressing the two issues noted above.
This path would likely need to be accompanied by an amendment to the Scona District Plan.
The Planning Committee has reached out to Michael Janz to follow up and will continue to engage with external organizations on this issue.
