Some Bowness residents hoping Calgary councillors can pause high density developments

Two city councillors are pushing for a pause in high density residential developments in northwest Calgary until an infrastructure review is undertaken.

On Thursday, Coun. Sonya Sharp and Coun. Terry Wong brought forward a notice of motion at the city’s executive committee meeting that calls for a comprehensive assessment of critical infrastructure in the communities of Bowness and Montgomery.

It also calls for a pause on developments until the assessment is complete.

The motion passed the committee review with a 7 to 3 vote — Couns. Dan McLean, Kourtney Penner and Jasmine Mian all voted against it — and will move to a council vote later this month.

Sharp and Wong say the major water main burst this summer shows the aging infrastructure in the area needs to be looked at before any major projects go ahead.

“I hope that everyone here understands the severity of what these two communities, specifically the residents of Bowness and Montgomery, had to endure throughout the last five months,” says Sharp.

“This notice simply wants to ensure that the network is sound before higher density proceeds in these two communities.”

She says the city still has no idea why the failing infrastructure happened back in June, adding that the notice of motion is about sticking up for residents.

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More Neighbours Calgary, a group that supports higher density development in the city, calls the motion disingenuous and accuses the councillors of trying to introduce “exclusionary zoning” to limit the types of builds in the neighbourhood.

“In Sharp and Wong’s notice of motion, they single out Bowness and Montgomery for special treatment, and propose to stop all redevelopment of any kind larger than a rowhouse,” says More Neighbours.

Some residents in the community agree that the development permits in question will bring too many new residents to a neighbourhood that’s already facing challenges with parking, safety and property value.

“I’ve spoken to my neighbours and they are uniformly opposed to this project,” says Bowness resident Bruce Graham. “There’ll be a total of three developments with 26 units otherwise three single family lots.”

Graham says he is not opposed to new construction but is concerned about the city pushing for the highest density without a thorough consideration of the existing infrastructure.

“There’s no accountability to what ultimately will be built here until problems occur, whether it’s parking problems, traffic problems, waste management problems,” he says. “They’ll all be dealt with on a complaint basis at a later time.”

He hopes the Notice of Motion gets approved by Council for a comprehensive review of critical infrastructure conditions before any new development is approved.

The pause would only apply to developments submitted after Aug. 26, and would be on hold until the infrastructure assessment ends.

Legal concerns also came up during Thursday’s meeting — developers have a right to appeal during the application process. But the city says they will work on a case-by-case basis and work with applicants.