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By Alessia Proietti

Vision or demand

Red Deer’s Capstone development regulations tweaked for flexibility

Feb 10, 2023 | 9:33 AM

Developers may want to take another look at Red Deer’s Capstone area.

City council gave second and third reading on Monday to a Land Use Bylaw amendment to the Capstone Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP), providing more flexibility in its development regulations.

READ: Capstone may soon see flexibility in development regulations

Among the changes are:

• The Municipal Planning Commission will now have the authority to approve height variances from the current two-storey requirement, removing the need for developers to get this approval from council
• The requirement for the front façade of a building has been reduced to run along 60 per cent of the frontage rather than the entire length
• Discretionary Uses have been added for day care facilities and public assembly places for gatherings such as religious places of worship, auditoriums, and community and convention centres
• A Permitted Use has been added for microbreweries
• Paved and landscaped Temporary Surface Parking Lots have been increased from three to 10 years

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“The vision for Capstone is bold; I support it. I don’t want to see us settle for a consolation prize but at the same time, I would love to see some movement down there; we all would. I wait for that day to come,” said Councillor Cindy Jefferies.

At the Public Hearing, various locals voiced in support of the amendment but said that more needs to be done.

Scott Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce, reiterated points previously stated in a letter submitted to council with the Red Deer Construction Association and the Building Industry and Land Development Association.

“In 2020, Stone Olafson was hired to conduct a survey which highlighted some apparent challenges with the alignment between the Capstone vision and needs/desires of the consumer and marketplace for a city like Red Deer,” the letter states.

Robinson said the results “speak for themselves” as there has been no development in the area since 2016 when the ARP was formed or has seen businesses fail. He says consultations are not a “frontend process” and must be continuous to ensure projects move forward. He offered that members in the community and chamber would be willing to create a task force to generate further options for the area.

“The need to ‘socialize’ consumers to learn about and understand the vision perhaps is an indication that it might be the vision that needs the work and not the consumer,” he wrote in the letter.

Councillor Vesna Higham questioned this statement, asking if extenuating circumstances such as issues in the downtown or previous decisions could be impacting Capstone’s success.

Curtis Bouteiller, Chief Operating Officer at Proform Concrete Services, said Red Deer has been stagnant since the 2008 financial and energy crisis.

He referenced a Statistics Canada report from January 2023, showing Alberta had the five fastest-growing regions in the Prairies, on a population percentage-growth basis, with Calgary, Edmonton, Canmore, Sylvan Lake, and Lethbridge.

READ: Stats Canada: Red Deer sees largest international migration growth in 20 years

Questioning why Lethbridge was on the list over Red Deer, he said the mid-sized city has a non-profit organization focused on economic development called “Choose Lethbridge”, conducting yearly surveys with the business community. He said Red Deer is too focused on land rather than economic development.

READ: Red Deer city council approves site exception for potential strip mall in Capstone