This proposal is going to a public hearing of City Council on Monday, March 18. You have an opportunity to make your views known to City Council. On the day of the hearing, you can speak to City Council for five minutes. They may or may not ask you questions. Comments should be short and to the point because of this time limit. A very effective way of getting your views across to City Council is to send each member of City Council an e-mail about a week to 10 days prior to the hearing date.
The following are some points the community association has made at various points in past months that might help you in your comments (personalize in your own words):
The Cliff Bungalow – Mission Community Association (CBMCA) is not against the proposed use for this site – that of seniors living.
We are not against change as some people are saying to our position on the matter. Indeed this community has had a lot of change over the years, probably one of the communities with the most change in Calgary.
The CBMCA is pro-densification. Inner-city communities each play an important role in accommodating the expected doubling in population over the next 60 years. However, we believe densification can be achieved under current policies and in sensible ways. At nearly three-times the allowable height, the CBMCA is opposed to application LOC2018-0143.
The application is in direct conflict with the objectives, policy and intent of the current Cliff Bungalow Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP), which calls for sensible densification and a maximum height of 16 meters on the proposed site. The Cliff Bungalow ARP is the result of a seven-year process, hundreds of person hours and thousands of hours of volunteer capital, and was developed with the intent of accommodating inevitable growth while retaining the essential character and liveability.
Densification does not require tall buildings. Density is possible and desirable if the buildings are of modest height. At an average density of 8,945 people/km2, Cliff Bungalow-Mission already is Calgary’s third most dense community, yet its urban form remains ostensibly human-scale in comparison to its peer group (for comparison Chinatown at 8,274 people/km2 and Beltline at 8,999 people/km2). Cliff Bungalow-Mission is one of the most desired communities exactly for that reason – its ability to accommodate many people and small businesses while retaining a sense of place and cultural context.
In June, 2016, the CBMCA organized a community-wide workshop to hear directly from residents what they think of certain planning matters. Most respondents (85%) agreed the ARP should be respected by the City and developers. The Cliff Bungalow ARP is a values-based document. Those values are still relevant and up-to-date and very much reflective of the language and intent of the Municipal Development Plan (MDP).
Our community exceeds the MDP densification targets. The amount of people living and working in the community today is 50% beyond what the City asks us to accommodate. And if we would fully build out to existing zoning as approved under the ARP our density would be three times as high as the target.
The City has done no City of Calgary public consultation on the proposed Special Study Area amendment to the Cliff Bungalow ARP. This is a significant portion of the community and there should be proper public consultation. The CBMCA offers their community hall for such consultation.
Within the Special Study Area, there are some significant historic resources. The area includes three buildings identified on the City’s Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources (the Laurence Apartments, the Gordon Suites, and the Himmelman Boathouse).
Within the Special Study Area, there are two major businesses that help anchor 4th street (Earl’s and Wurst). They both suffered significant flood damage in 2013 and they invested significant funds to be able to reopen. In addition, while not on the City’s Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources, the Wurst location is in a historic building also (former Franzis Gasthaus with its iconic sign – still in use).
There has not been proper public consultation by the City on possible provision of community benefits if this land use change is approved by Council. There should be a special consultation process by the City on this if Council decides it wishes to approve this land use change. The CBMCA offers their community hall for such consultation.
There are many more points that you might put forward in your submission to Council, either verbally or by e-mail.
City Council Contact Information
Mayor Nenshi - themayor@calgary.ca
Ward 1 – Councillor Ward Sutherland – ward.sutherland@calgary.ca
Ward 2 – Councillor Joe Magliocca – joe.magliocca@calgary.ca
Ward 3 – Councillor Jyoti Gondek – jyoti.gondek@calgary.ca
Ward 4 – Councillor Sean Chu – sean.chu@calgary.ca
Ward 5 – Councillor George Chahal – george.chahal@calgary.ca
Ward 6 – Councillor Jeff Davidson – jeff.davidson@calgary.ca
Ward 7 – Councillor Druh Farrell – druh.farrell@calgary.ca
Ward 8 – Councillor Evan Woolley – evan.woolley@calgary.ca
Ward 9 – Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra – gian-carlo.carra@calgary.ca
Ward 10 – Councillor Ray Jones – ray.jones@calgary.ca
Ward 11 – Councillor Jeromy Farkas – jeromy.farkas@calgary.ca
Ward 12 – Councillor Shane Keating – shane.keating@calgary.ca
Ward 13 – Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart – diane.colley-urquhart@calgary.ca
Ward 14 – Councillor Peter Demong – peter.demong@calgary.ca
City Clerk’s Office – Laura Kennedy - cityclerk@calgary.ca
Notes: The location of this proposal is in Ward 8 (Councillor Evan Woolley), which is west of 4th Street SW in our community. Ward 11 (Councillor Jeromy Farkas) is east of 4th Street SW in our community. Submissions to the City Clerks Office become part of the official record of submissions. However, sending comments to each Council member makes sure they get our messages unfiltered.