PGA Council Meeting Recap and Next Steps
Two weeks ago, City Council held its public hearing on Priority Growth Area (PGA) rezonings, which affect Garneau and several other neighbourhoods.
The Garneau Community League requested that a decision be delayed until we could bring forward our proposed amendment to the Scona District Plan. The vast majority of Garneau residents are opposed to upzoning any remaining small-scale residential areas, but open to density along 109 Street and other major corridors.
However, Council did not consider our request. They passed the upzonings without any amendments. Councillor Michael Janz proposed removing 81st Ave from the upzoning but was defeated 7-5. He did not speak in support of community led-planning or for an exemption for Garneau to build on the PGA work. He ultimately voted in favour of the rezonings.
These are the changes that we are opposed to:
North side of 81st Ave: upzoned to six storeys
North side of 85th Ave: upzoned to six storeys
109 Street and 87th Ave: upzoned with high Floor Area Ratios which disincentivize outdoor amenities and greenspace
We continue to work on our plan amendment, which will preserve some small-scale housing while also supporting housing diversity. To keep residents updated, we are starting a separate planning email list. If you are a member of our main e-mail list you have already been added. If you are not on our main e-mail list, you can still subscribe to planning-specific messages.
Your support remains crucial to our success. The more residents that participate, the better our chance of success. We will also point you to actions that we think are most effective.
There are three actions you can take right now:
Contact Michael Janz (our councillor) and Tim Cartmell and Andrew Knack (mayoral candidates): Tell them that you are disappointed with the recent PGA hearings, that you support our community-led plan amendment, and you want them to ensure City administration works constructively with us.
Complete the City’s Heritage Places Survey: The League’s position can be found here for your background. Deadline is June 8, 2025.
Respond to proposed changes to Garneau Heritage Character DC1 Zone (83 to 85 Ave): A non-resident property owner is applying to change Garneau’s Heritage Character Zone (DC1 6220) to allow garage suites and 6-plexes on corner lots. To follow City requirements, they sent a letter on May 21st to affected properties soliciting feedback.
The Garneau Community League is open to considering changes to this zone but believe changes should be community led to ensure they benefit the entire neighbourhood and city, not just an individual developer.
In fact, the League is in the process of preparing its own application to amend the Scona District Plan and update this zone to ensure we continue to have small-scale residential homes that are adaptable for multi-person households and that new development is sympathetic in design to the heritage character of our neighbourhood.
Changes to the DC1 could have deep and long-lasting impacts and should only be made in consideration of the greater neighbourhood context.
We encourage residents to provide feedback to the developer before June 11, 2025, which is when they will be able to submit their application to the City for review.
