Contentious public hearing on Glenmore Landing development to stretch into second day at city hall

Calgarians in opposition to a development project at Glenmore Landing in the city’s southwest brought their concerns to city hall Tuesday during a public hearing.

Around 50 people registered to speak in what has been a contentious debate over land located at the south and east edges of Glenmore Landing, at 90 Avenue and 14 Street SW.

Back in 2015, council directed city staff to work with the owners of the Glenmore Landing Shopping Centre to explore the sale of the lands as part of the development.

Earlier this year, the city authorized the land sale to Rio-Can, which plans to develop the site, in an 8-3 vote. Upon full build-out, the proposed plan area is expected to accommodate around 1,165 residential units.

In August, the city learned that an agreement dating back to the 1980s referred to the land as ‘park land’ and indicated the city should only use it for park purposes.

Administration received 23 responses in support of the project from the public, largely outweighed by the 428 responses in opposition. The city says it has also received a petition with 64 signatures in opposition to the proposed development.

“There will be a lot of discussion that will most likely take up the rest of the afternoon,” said Coun. Sonya Sharp on Tuesday.

Most of those against the project cited similar concerns, including environmental and traffic impacts, high density, building height, and strain on public infrastructure like healthcare and schools.

Coun. Kourtney Penner is the ward councillor for the area and says the site has been prioritized as an area to increase density based on its proximity to transit.

“We identified areas of the city to ‘grow up’ verus ‘growing out,'” says Penner. “We talk about where density is appropriate, one of those is around primary transit networks and this is one of those sites.”

Several area community associations sent multiple letters to the city opposing the work; Palliser-Bayview-Pumphill Community Association (CA) sent three letters, the Haysboro and Chinook Park-Kelvin Grove-Eagle Ridge CAs sent two, and the Oakridge sent one.

Kevin Taylor, the director of the Palliser-Bayview-Pumphill CA, says he’s not against development in the city, but safety is top-of-mind for him and the residents he spoke to in the community.

“Over 90 per cent of the people were against the development proposed,” he said. “Everyone has their various reasons but the common theme is on our drinking water and pedestrian safety for cyclists, and the seniors that live right up here, and what it’s going to do to the community.”

Taylor explains he is also concerned about the increased traffic in the area with a “failing intersection” as well as more pedestrians.

The debate is expected to continue into Wednesday.