Springbank Hill public hearing postponed after fight from community members

Residents of a southwest Calgary community have won their fight to postpone a public hearing for a controversial development in their neighbourhood.

The update came from Calgary City Hall on Tuesday, after residents of Springbank Hill were unsuccessful in taking the matter to court on Monday, forcing the meeting to go ahead.

Council voted in favour of postponing the public meeting for the Augusta Villas project to the new year following a motion from Coun. Sonya Sharp.

“Now, there is no actual date for January because the new council has to set that date for the agenda. So, we’re trying to make sure we give enough time for the applicant, the community, and the administration to work together to get everybody on the same page for this file to come to a public hearing where the community is satisfied and so is the applicant,” she said.

The Augusta Villas developer wants to build 42 luxury townhouse units at 30 Elveden Drive SW.

Community members tell CityNews they have not had proper representation for a while, since they’ve been without a councillor in Ward 6 since last year.

Former councillor Richard Pootmans resigned in late 2024. Couns. Sonya Sharp, Courtney Walcott, and Kourtney Penner were assigned to monitor the area and be available to Ward 6 residents in his absence.

“It’s a huge victory for our community. We have been pleading with the city council for months to delay this matter,” says resident Sara Austin.

The residents say the development would bring in traffic congestion, cause parking issues in the community, and also cover the view of homes to the east.

“This is a community that lives on a single rural road; there simply isn’t the infrastructure to support this level of high-density development,” Austin says.

The group was requesting an administrative delay until November, at which time the ward would have a councillor post-municipal election.