Airdrie City View

Monklands rezoning approved

Stacie Snow
Rocky View Publishing

Despite public outcry from hundreds of residents, City council voted to rezone vacant land by Monklands Park, giving the green light for a Habitat for Humanity housing project, Feb. 1.
A hearing on the 2.3-acre project, located on First Ave. between 24th St. and 8th St., took place on Dec. 21 but was put on hold by council until a follow up traffic study could be conducted.
Aldermen Glenda Alexander, Fred Burley and Mayor Linda Bruce voted in favour of the proposal. Aldermen Richards Siemens and Deputy Mayor Kelly Hegg voted against it.
Alexander said she ran for council to bring the issues of the less fortunate to council’s attention.
“Affordable housing is a big part of that,” she said.
“You all have very, very valid concerns but I am here to speak on behalf of a number of residents without a voice and that is what I am going to do.”
Burely said he does not believe the Monklands site is the perfect site for the development, but the City heard the same concerns when Sagewood was in the early stages of development.
“All the same issues came forward then and Sagewood is now a great community,” he said.
“We will be getting rid of parking but parking for the schools is not our responsibility, it is the school board’s.”
Bruce said she is convinced traffic will not be greatly impacted and child safety will remain a priority.
“An entire area of our community is genuinely concerned,” she said.
“I applaud you for being here tonight to show your concern for your community and I want you to know that there are still a lot of issues ahead such as the size of the development and access to Monklands Soccer Park.”
Hegg received a round of applause when he said although there is a need for affordable housing in the city; Monklands is not the right spot for a residential development.
Siemens was upset by the ‘NIMBY’ (Not in My Backyard) attitude of the residents. He sympathized with the people who use Habitat for Humanity’s services.
“These are good people who for some reason can’t afford their own home,” he said.
“It could be your daughter or my daughter who needs a way back in. If many of us had not been helped by a parent or friend or organization, we may have been in line for Habitat for Humanity, myself included.”
He said he decided to vote against the proposal when he heard that Our Lady Queen of Peace School is planning to close its parking lot to the public, causing buses and residents to park on First Ave.
“I made my decision based on what I heard today,” he said.
“I don’t think school buses should be on First Ave. so for the safety of my grandchildren and perhaps your children, I will vote against this.”
Aldermen Marlene Weaver and Shawn Howard excused themselves from the vote because they were unable to attend the Dec. 21 meeting and didn’t feel they had enough information to make a decision.

Working together
Burley, Bruce and Siemens were all concerned about the size of the development. An R-4 designation allows for up to 57 units, a number the three council members say is too high for that location.
“The maximum number of units is 57 and we believe that is too high,” said Bruce.
“We will work with Habitat for Humanity to decide on how many units will actually go in.”
Habitat for Humanity president and CEO Andrew MacLachlan said the organization has no intention of building the maximum number of units. He guesses the number would be closer to 35.
“It is clear to us that we have more work to do to engage the community in the next steps,” he said.
“We plan to have an open house as soon as possible to share the layout and details with the public. The safety and traffic concerns are coming through loud and clear to us.”
He said he was pleased to see how many people came out to the meeting to support and oppose the project.
“A lot of times, we don’t see anyone come out to these things so this gives us a direction to go in and allows us to see what is important to the residents. I deeply appreciate all the time and effort people have put in because it will help us plan properly.”
Ryan Cameron, the resident who started the No Monklands Development petition against the Habitat for Humanity project, said he was disappointed by council’s decision.
“I was glad to hear that they are intending to cut down the density. If this is going to go forward, we are going to make it work for the community,” he said.
“We need to look into what our next step is going to be but I know the people I have talked to are not going to let this rest.”

Traffic study
Chris Delanoy of ISL Engineering, said there is inadequate parking in the area but increased traffic volume caused by the Habitat for Humanity development would be minimal.
“If there were 57 units in the development, that would equate to 300 new vehicle trips per day,” he said.
This would increase the usage of First Ave from 60 per cent of capacity daily to 63 per cent.
“It is quite operable,” he said.
After hearing about the new traffic study, resident Linda Ray was in support of the project.
“I think the City of Airdrie can work well with Habitat for Humanity to meet the needs of the community while supporting growth,” she said.
Resident Lorne Vellacott agreed.
“I don’t believe this housing development will have a significant impact. I work in Airdrie and drive around the city almost every day and I don’t see one small development impacting traffic that drastically,” he said,
“It seems insignificant to deny this project on the basis of a three per cent increase in traffic.”

Residents opposed
Hundreds of other residents packed council chambers to loudly voice their concerns to council, but were upset the discussion was limited to traffic issues.
“I fully disagree with the results of the traffic study and I think limiting the discussion to traffic issues is stifling the discussion. It is not getting into the meat of this issue,” said resident Dan Charlesworth.
Resident Annette Freeman said she is concerned the traffic and parking problems will affect the group of people the Habitat for Humanity project is meant to help.
“We should be integrating affordable housing into every community,” she said.
“Affordable housing should be indistinguishable from the rest of the market value.”
Residents brought up other concerns such as the impact on First Ave. when the future Sagewood Middle School is built, when First Ave. will be twinned, the loss of green space and what level of traffic is safe for the children who cross the road everyday.
Resident Jill Monday said the main issue comes down to the fact that the aldermen are meant to vote on behalf of the people of Airdrie.
“Obviously the traffic issue is a very heated one and we could debate it all night,” she said.
“If you look at how many people came out to speak against this, your choice should be clear.”
The conversation got heated when one resident threatened legal action and another accused Delanoy of being biased.
After a number of outbursts from the gallery, Mayor Linda Bruce called a short recess so residents and council could control themselves.