Edmonton’s Garneau community opposes apartments on historic block

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Members of the Garneau community are opposing the proposal for apartment buildings, believing that a four-storey building is not needed or required in historic homes.

On Monday, the Edmonton City Council received news from about a dozen people at the City Hall, most of whom were against the public. The property owners of NW Avenue 10948 89 hope the city will allow buildings with a limit of up to 16 meters from the current 10.5 meters, with up to 15 small apartments, and optional business on the ground floor.

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The location itself is exacerbating the shock in the community. The lot is 10 meters wide in the middle of the block and is surrounded by historic homes built in the early 1910s. The West is the Cecil S. Burgess residence, a registered municipal historical resource. Both houses in the east are on the city’s historical resource list, and there are three more houses on the street.

“We just asked you to keep the 1920 block. These homes are over 100 years old and I think the community is great,” neighbor Sheryl Stephens said during a public hearing. “There are not many houses left.”

“We need more than just more houses.”

Garneau has density

Although the rest of the city is dominated by only single-family homes, about 90% of Garneau homes are already four-story or higher, according to Steph Neufeld, president of the Garneau Community Alliance, Steph Neufeld, president of the Garneau Community Alliance, said about 90% of Garneau homes are already four-story or higher.

She noted that many other areas of the community have been partitioned at higher density and are not built at the largest size allowed. The Alliance wants to see higher density in these areas – just not on this obstacle.

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If the city wants to focus on a variety of housing options, Neufeld also means bringing some areas with smaller homes, then adding this block is “a typical part of our history.”

“This is already the densest neighborhood in Edmonton, and we just want to keep some smaller places,” she told Postmedia. “With the city getting dense, we want to keep all kinds of housing types.”

She also questioned the builder’s intentions.

Property records shared with Postmedia show that the existing home was sold for $499,000 last year. According to Neufeld, it is listed again thereafter. This time, the asking price is $589,000.

“These are not people who reinvest in the community and are profitable in nature,” Neufeld said.

“When this happens, it’s hard for communities because they’re not going to build communities and they’re not trying to offer different options for the people living in those communities.”

Neighbor Leroy Warden questioned why the city agreed to change land use rules so quickly after approving the zoning charter overhaul in the second half of 2023.

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Those citywide zoning changes allow up to three floors and up to eight units on any residential lot.

“Why do we need to convince the Council to stick to the decisions made more than a year ago?” he asked at the meeting. “Why not give your decision a real chance to achieve it?”

Need university housing

City staff recommended the council to approve the rezoning, believing that this would allow for more housing density to be established near busy bus centres and because it fits the future vision outlined in the district plans including the Scona district plan Garneau.

Ryan Eidick, director of Eins Development Consulting, spoke on behalf of property owners, told the Council that for those working at or attending the University of Alberta, they need more places of residence.

“Universities are growing, and like a wider city, the supply of accommodation in nearby areas is not meeting demand,” he said.

Although the building may be as high as 16 meters, Eddick said it is unlikely to be built in reality. Higher buildings require more space and plot edges.

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“It is very difficult to implement an apartment-style home in a four-meter development. Since no one is willing to build a space needle on site, we are more likely to have a top height of 12 meters,” Eidick said at the meeting.

It seems the city council is looking for a compromise.

The Council requires the city government to adopt a zoning plan that can allow up to 12 meters.

“I think it’s a more suitable area,” Kuhn said. Andrew’s Tips. “I prefer the post-setting in this area. We can still argue whether it’s good enough to solve all the other contextual works of the puzzle.”

Ward Papastew. The district councillor Michael Janz is one of only two people to vote against the revision. Mayor Amarejeet Sohi and Councillors Sarah Hamilton and Aaron Paquette were absent.

Janz said he was more satisfied with the current partition.

He has questions about the region’s wider heritage plans and looks at how family-friendly housing can be retained in each community.

“Garneau has had more density over the years,” he said. “Especially given the existence of this legacy, these other works, I think we need to get a clearer answer (first).

The Council is expected to debate the new partition next month.

lboothby@postmedia.com

@laurby

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