(Image Credit: City of Red Deer/Supplied)

By Ian Gustafson

Shifting north

Council passes first reading to amend zoning bylaw for proposed financial institution with drive-thru

Jan 28, 2026 | 4:53 PM

Red Deer city council approved the first reading of a site exception application to amend a zoning bylaw to allow a drive-thru as a discretionary use for a new financial institution.

As a result, a public hearing will be held during the council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

In September 2025, council passed second and third readings of a proposed amendment to the Capstone Area Redevelopment Plan and zoning bylaw to allow for the bank, which was set to be situated at 5402 47 Street at Carnival Cinemas in Capstone.

However, an application was received by the city from the same landowner who proposed to amend the zoning bylaw and to allow a drive-thru at 4837 54 Avenue, just north of the existing site.

Future development will combine both sites into one large site. As previously reported by rdnewsNOW, Carnival Cinemas will move downtown.

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City administration wrote in the report that a site exception is required because the CAP-TD zone prohibits drive-thrus.

The Capstone Area Redevelopment Plan encourages a mix of retail spaces along Taylor Drive and 47 Street, as well as a mix of retail, office, auto-oriented, and pedestrian-oriented commercial uses developed at different densities, styles, and types.

A letter from a landowner near the site submitted to the city in December that he opposed the drive-thru, saying it “will greatly exacerbate an already traffic nightmare in the neighbourhood.”

“Adding a drive-thru service to the mix will just make matters worse. The residents of the area are able to walk to all of the amenities the area provides,” he stated in the letter. “Inviting more cars from non-local citizens is not needed and is certainly detrimental to the peace and well-being of the local residents.”