Red Deer city council votes against rezoning application in Waskasoo area after public hearing

“I think it’s important that citizens showed up and that council did listen,” said John Bouw, WCA President, who wants the site to remain a form of green space. “East Lincoln is a great developer; I hope they can find another site to do this seniors’ residence. It’s a great idea but it was in the wrong spot.”

Three rooms in Red Deer’s City Hall were filled with residents for Tuesday night’s Public Hearing. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

ARP ZONING

The Waskasoo ARP, a statutory document, was adopted in 2016 to provide guidance for redevelopment in the neighbourhood and states the lot ‘shall’ remain a PS zone. The amendment would allow council to redesignate the land’s zoning.

Under the PS zone, the landowner can build an Assisted Living Facility, which provides live-in accommodation for people with chronic conditions requiring professional care. They could also build a campground, day care facility, institutional services, office space for recreation groups, and retail outlets, among other uses.

The landowner, East Lincoln Properties, wants to build a two-building, four-storey independent living accommodation for seniors aged 55 and over containing 60 units, requiring an R3 zone.

Residents like Brenda Garrett voiced that a change in the ARP would shake public confidence in local government while undermining the work and funds put into creating the document.

Bouw suggested the landowner build the accommodation in the Capstone area where they have also expressed plans to build a strip mall.

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

City Manager Tara Lodewyk notified the public that there are no height guarantees under the PS zone compared to the R3 zone that requires buildings to be no more than four-storeys.

TRAFFIC

A main concern for residents was an increase in traffic as they said 45 Ave is over-congested due to being the only road to Kerry Wood Nature Centre and its proximity to the Gaetz Lake Sanctuary, Gateway Christian School, McKenzie Trails, and other heavily used institutions.

While resident Kristen Steenbergen presented her own statistics that the avenue, deemed a collector road, was too narrow and overcapacity, city administration claimed the opposite. They said congestion is mainly at peak school and work travel times of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. and is under capacity based on data from the intersection of 55 St and 45 Ave. They say with the development, theoretically, the intersection would be utilized at just 69.5 per cent of capacity during the morning peak hour.

“The gentlemen from the City earlier in his presentation spoke of the traffic on 45 Ave as not being a problem. His statement, to that effect, was met with loud laughter in an obvious sense of offence by the many people in the other room,” said Wasksoo resident William Weiswasser, referencing the citizens watching the hearing from a separate room at City Hall due to overcrowding.

ENVIRONMENT

Resident Chris Olsen made a presentation that the majority of properties in Red Deer have a 100 metre (m) riparian buffer zone from the river. He claimed that the proposed development would only allow a 12 m buffer which can have negative impacts on flooding that the area has seen in the past.

However, Cory Leniuk, a local architect hired by the developer, pointed out that multiple houses along Waskasoo Crescent are already less than 100 m from the river. He added that an additional buffer would already be required for the development as a portion of the land is reserved for municipal utilities underground.

Municipal Reserve for underground utilities on parcel of land owned by East Lincoln Properties. (May 4 public hearing presentation)

Other members from East Lincoln Properties stated they conducted riparian studies and found no concerns.

Leniuk added he is open to working with the Waskasoo residents on architectural design and space utilization.

THE DEVELOPMENT

“It was a disappointing outcome with disappointing reasoning. We will now take a pause to consider our options and to contemplate next steps,” said Tanya Kure, Director of Property Development for East Lincoln Properties.

West Park resident Wayne Arrison was the sole local who spoke in favour of the proposal, stating that these types of accommodations are needed for the aging population.

President of East Lincoln Properties Ben Meyer claims they have met with the WCA and reached out on various occasions but were not responded to.

He said many residents are incorrectly referring to the land as a public park because they made the mistake of allowing the school board to utilize the land until they developed it.

“We should’ve put up a fence. We should’ve said ‘this is private property, it’s not a park’,” he said. “It feels, when I listen to everyone talk, ‘this is their park, this is their land and you are lucky that you bought it so keep cutting the grass and paying the taxes’.”

The councillors expressed that they were compelled by the level of public participation and passion for their opposition to the amendments.

“When you have a neighborhood, in a statistically significant number, come and speak against something, who are we to argue around this table about the impact from a planning perspective? Because there are many unknowns,” said Councillor Lawrence Lee.

City council also advised the public that the land is still privately owned, under the PS zone, and can therefore be developed.

Councillor Dianne Wyntjes proposed to postpone the motion to provide more time to find a middle ground; but the motion was voted down.

The developer can reapply within six months with the same application or with modifications.

by Alessia Proietti

Red Deer city council votes against rezoning application in Waskasoo area after public hearing

What's Trending