Community Planning and Development
The Hillhurst Sunnyside Planning Committee (HSPC) is recruiting. Our meetings are open to all residents. We are currently looking to increase representation from community members living in apartments/condos and those who call Sunnyside home. Our next meeting is scheduled for October 9 from 7-9pm at the HSCA.
Development in the community is guided by the Hillhurst Sunnyside Area Redevelopment Plan (http://bit.ly/HS_ARP). While there are development projects happening across the community, we would like to provide an update this month on the various projects on 10th Street and Gladstone Road as pictured in the graphic.
- Battistella Developments’ Hillhurst Baptist Church/LifeSport development is going through the review process through the City. The City Planning Dept is working with the applicant to formalize the details of the historical preservation agreement and negotiating the bylaw rules of the proposed Direct Control District. The project is aiming to go forward to Calgary Planning Commission on Oct 4 and Dec 10 for the Council Public Hearing. Read up on background information on this project at the developer’s website at engagehillhurstbaptistchurch.com.
- Graywood Developments will be submitting their Development Permit application to redevelop the RBC Site. The application to rezone the site to the allowable ARP height (32m or 9 storeys) and density (5.0 FAR) was approved by City Council. At the time of writing, the developer will be presenting their visions and plans to the community on Sept 11. The community will have an opportunity to comment on the design once submitted.
- March of Dimes Canada Non-Profit Housing Corporation (NPHC) is the potential buyer of the property, which is currently home to the Sisters of Charity of St Louis. The Sisters will be selling their convent and hope that the building will be used for a charitable, community-oriented service. NPHC’s goal is to provide housing with specialized services and 24/7 support for 15 persons with Autism and other disabilities.
NPHC hosted an open house for neighbours over the summer to gain input and investigate if the project will be supported by the community prior to fundraising to purchase the property. No offer to purchase has been made as NPHC awaits final reports on costs to upgrade the building per the assessments and confirmation from potential funders that would make the purchase affordable to NPHC as a non-profit charitable corporation.
HSCA members in attendance at the open house observed overwhelming neighbours’ support for NPHC’s plans and future renovations to make the building more accessible. We heard from parents of special needs children who spoke to the need for assisted and independent living accommodation for their adult children so they could form a community and lean on the support of their contemporaries and peers. Neighbours fully welcome the new potential residents and also wanted to know how they could help NPHC achieve their goal.
Letters of support are welcome and can be emailed to: Andria Spindel, President and CEO of March of Dimes Canada at [email protected] or mailed to her at 10 Overlea Blvd, Toronto, ON M4H 1A4. For more information about March of Dimes Canada, go to www.marchofdimes.ca or contact the Manager of Regional Development, Alberta, Brandon MacLean at [email protected].
Learn more and get involved
- Check out what’s happening online at https://hsca-community-planning.mn.co and on the City’s PD Map at https://developmentmap.calgary.ca/#map.
- Sign up for the monthly HSCA newsletter at hsca.ca and follow us on social media.
- Meet your neighbours – HSPC meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month from 7-9pm.
- If you are interested in volunteering, have questions, or have a request to present at the next meeting, please contact Lisa Chong, Community Planning Coordinator at [email protected].
Traffic
As you may have read in previous newsletters, HSCA is still seeking volunteers for community-wide traffic initiatives. Residents of Hillhurst and Sunnyside would like to see a comprehensive strategy to increase safety for all road users, and to make the neighbourhood more livable. Contact [email protected] if you would like to help with this volunteer initiative.
At the time of writing, City Council will be discussing a Notice of Motion on September 10 to reduce the speed limit from the standard 50 km/hr to a 30 km/hr speed limit on residential streets (or interior and side streets). For example, main thoroughfares such as 10 Street will not be affected by the proposed speed limit change. This NOM would also consider changes to road design to discourage speeding. A record of the Council hearing should be available soon at agendaminutes.calgary.ca.
Safety
HSCA would like to thank our partners at Alpha House Society’s Downtown Outreach Addictions Partnership (DOAP) Team for their extra support during the summer. The DOAP Team is a mobile team familiar with street-involved Calgarians that helps relieve pressure on Calgary Police Service, Emergency Medical Services, Transit, Bylaw and local hospitals by connecting vulnerable people with services.
We continue to work with Alpha House with regular stakeholder meetings: the DOAP team found that most of their interactions in the area have been to do with business education; there is a smaller amount of activity from people experiencing homelessness and a fair amount of younger people congregating in the public area in front of Safeway that do have places to stay. The DOAP Team has also picked up needles in some parts of the neighbourhood. Please call 911 if you observe needles on the ground.
