Development in Glendale
by Chris Welner, Community Association President
There has been much conversation in the community about the Glendale Commons development on 17th Avenue SW at the corner of Glenmount Drive. The project, for which a land use change was approved in December 2019, features a gelato and Italian coffee shop with a drive-through, a medical clinic, parking, and six apartment suites above in two-storey structures. The City’s Planning Department is evaluating all aspects of the development including impacts on traffic, road safety and noise, on top of ensuring the building design complies with all the rules such as lot coverage and building height. As of Thumper press time, there has been no decision that the Community Association is aware of.
The Community Association has received some criticism for its support of the land use change and that there was no news of this Development Permit application in the Thumper this spring. Printing deadlines make such notice virtually impossible on any Development Permit as there is usually a limited 21-day window for public comment after a notice of Development Permit is given. In this case, as in all Development Permits the Community Association receives, plans were received May 31 and shared with our Development Subcommittee for their comment at our June board meeting, which is open to all members of the community. Our feedback is sent to the file manager, just as any resident’s comments are.
The Community Association does not have the resources, nor mandate, to offer notice for every Development Permit we see, as there are dozens of active projects on the go at any given time. Such notice is the responsibility of the City and the developer. If you see a sign posted on a property, visit https://developmentmap.calgary.ca for more information on the project. In this case, the Community Association felt there was significant consultation dating back to the summer of 2019. In fact, much more than we have ever seen from a developer looking to build a new project in our community. The developer is a member of our Community Association and gave occasional updates about the project at our board meetings. He was never present when there was discussion at the table about the merits of this project.
A larger issue may be development in general along 17th Avenue SW. The Glendale/Glendale Meadows Community Association has been an active participant in every planning initiative advanced by the City of Calgary in recent memory. This includes the Guidebook for Great Communities, the Westbrook Communities Working Group, West LRT development initiatives, and the City’s Main Streets program, through which work is underway on 37th Street in our neighbourhood. Our community is protective of its RC-1 zoning designation and residents do not want to lose the quality of life that comes with living in a neighbourhood such as Glendale.
However, our Community Association recognizes the desire of the City under the Municipal Development Plan to increase density in established neighbourhoods such as Glendale and has worked with the City, area residents, and developers to achieve those results by focussing density and new development at the perimeter of Glendale, while protecting the zoning integrity of streets inside the community. The City’s transit-oriented development policies are also a factor. Transit-oriented development requires increasing density close to LRT stations. That expectation was clear when the West LRT was built in 2014. Density changes are occurring now along Glendale’s 37th Street SW as part of the Main Streets program where there is an influx of commercial and residential four, six, and nine-unit buildings where single-family bungalows existed. Another project conceived with significant community input is on five existing single-family lots on 17th Avenue, east of Glenside Drive. City Councillors approved zoning almost three years ago to allow for a three-storey, 46-unit building proposal that was acceptable to the Community Association. And while not all neighbours were happy with the result, most understood the alternatives could mean higher buildings, with more residential density and the strains that would put on community infrastructure with greater impact on adjacent properties and laneways.
With the potential for similar residential developments to occur along the entire length of 17th Avenue, the Community Association felt this commercial/residential project would have less of an impact on the community than the potential for another 30 to 40 residential units and the pressures that would put on the alleyway and neighbouring residents to the south. Glendale residents all along streets close to 17th Avenue will be facing those development pressures sometime in the future. Our Community Association has long advocated for brownstone style development along 17th Avenue, but we can’t really tell property owners how to spend their money.
There are about 50 single family homes along 17th Avenue in Glendale currently. If each home is replaced with a 9-unit apartment block, that would mean 450 new households. There is still much planning and consultation to try to influence how that development happens, but be sure some kind of development will happen. Simply saying, “I don’t want it,” to each proposal that comes up won’t take us very far.
If you are interested in being part of a group to help guide development in our community, email [email protected] and we will try to put a new working group together.
