Yesterday I attended a public meeting that the City of Edmonton advertised in the Edmonton Journal as an "Open House" regarding a relocation of the Park N' Ride at Century Park.
On June 12 I received an email invitation from Don Iveson for this public meeting, with the following text: "This is more of a housekeeping change around the parking, not the big rezoning that was discussed in the press last year. But wanted you to be aware that this is happening."
It appears that this is about much more than housekeeping. It appears to be a fast track rezoning of the entire Century Park site in order to allow the developer to construct rental apartment buildings and low rise wood frame construction on a piecemeal basis, without delivering on the Urban Village as originally promised to Edmontonians. Here is how I went from being a supporter of the Park N' Ride relocation to being highly alarmed at the potential loss of another large scale investment by Edmontonians.
Council Misled?
At the meeting this poster was on display:
On June 12 I received an email invitation from Don Iveson for this public meeting, with the following text: "This is more of a housekeeping change around the parking, not the big rezoning that was discussed in the press last year. But wanted you to be aware that this is happening."
It appears that this is about much more than housekeeping. It appears to be a fast track rezoning of the entire Century Park site in order to allow the developer to construct rental apartment buildings and low rise wood frame construction on a piecemeal basis, without delivering on the Urban Village as originally promised to Edmontonians. Here is how I went from being a supporter of the Park N' Ride relocation to being highly alarmed at the potential loss of another large scale investment by Edmontonians.
Council Misled?
At the meeting this poster was on display:
Notice that the Proposed rezoning encompasses the entire Century Park site. Also notice that a driveway on the south side is being rezoned from CSC to DC2.
Edmonton spent $690 million on the South LRT Expansion. The LRT created immense added value in the Century Park site, which until then had been an abandoned mall. In exchange for investing $690 million of public money in bringing the LRT to Century Park, Edmonton was promised an Urban Village.
Last night I spoke with Mr. Michael Shipley, Vice President of Construction for Procura, the Century Park developer. Mr. Shipley indicated that Procura wants to push forward with a high-rise apartment tower between the existing two north buildings, where there is already a parkade excavation which is fenced off. I took a picture of the excavation last night for reference:
Edmonton spent $690 million on the South LRT Expansion. The LRT created immense added value in the Century Park site, which until then had been an abandoned mall. In exchange for investing $690 million of public money in bringing the LRT to Century Park, Edmonton was promised an Urban Village.
Last night I spoke with Mr. Michael Shipley, Vice President of Construction for Procura, the Century Park developer. Mr. Shipley indicated that Procura wants to push forward with a high-rise apartment tower between the existing two north buildings, where there is already a parkade excavation which is fenced off. I took a picture of the excavation last night for reference:
Procura is also interested in pursuing a residential mixed use development at the south west corner of the area labelled "Future Staging" in the image below.
This "Future Staging" area is where nearly all of the Publicly Accessible Open Space (71,300 Square Metres) was originally planned. It is also where many ground floor commercial premises, which were to consist of individual shops of not more than 12m frontage, were to go. In short, the "Future Staging" area is the Urban Village that Edmonton was promised and that Procura never delivered.
Changing the Rules
In the meeting, I saw this poster, which references "removing a regulation pertaining to framing materials for residential buildings":
Changing the Rules
In the meeting, I saw this poster, which references "removing a regulation pertaining to framing materials for residential buildings":
The only framing regulation in the existing DC2 Zoning is one which stipulates that "All residential buildings are to be of concrete or steel frame construction." Does this mean that Procura intends to construct residential buildings out of wood frame construction? All of my experience is in wood frame construction and I'm not knocking it, but it is a lower cost alternative to concrete and steel.
These changes are in no way related to the "housekeeping change around the parking" which was advertised to Edmontonians.
Silencing Our Voices
This next poster is what truly alarmed me about the whole process: How do you summarize an Open House where there was no moderator, no question and answer period, no speakers or presentations, and no public education component, with technical language contained in the posters which most people do not easily understand?
These changes are in no way related to the "housekeeping change around the parking" which was advertised to Edmontonians.
Silencing Our Voices
This next poster is what truly alarmed me about the whole process: How do you summarize an Open House where there was no moderator, no question and answer period, no speakers or presentations, and no public education component, with technical language contained in the posters which most people do not easily understand?
In short, based on a meeting in which there was no public involvement, City staff is going to "summarize the results", "prepare Bylaws for Council," and have a Public Hearing. Council has a well-established record of ignoring the public at Public Hearings. We are typically told by City of Edmonton staff that there was an event in which all of the relevant information was conveyed, and that the public already had their chance to understand the issue, etc. I suspect this Open House was such an event. Now the results will be "summarized" as indicated by the "next steps" poster to be whatever City administration feels like saying, as there was no real public process to summarize. And yet the Open House was advertised as "housekeeping around the parking", not wholesales changes in the zoning and development of Century Park.
What do we get for our debt?
Having spent $690 million on an LRT which dramatically increased the value of the adjacent residential lands, Edmontonians deserve the Urban Village as originally envisioned and promised. Allowing Procura to construct rental apartment buildings and wood frame low rises on the site without addressing exactly how and when the Urban Village will materialize is an abject abrogation of Council's most basic responsibilities to Edmonton on this, our first Transit Oriented Development project.
What do we get for our debt?
Having spent $690 million on an LRT which dramatically increased the value of the adjacent residential lands, Edmontonians deserve the Urban Village as originally envisioned and promised. Allowing Procura to construct rental apartment buildings and wood frame low rises on the site without addressing exactly how and when the Urban Village will materialize is an abject abrogation of Council's most basic responsibilities to Edmonton on this, our first Transit Oriented Development project.