Community Planning in Hillhurst Sunnyside
Lisa Chong & Tim Kitchen 16 St NW
8 Ave NW
10 St NW St 10 14 St NW St 14
Centre St N 18 St NW St 18
Kensington Rd Sunnyside and 10th St from North Hill
facing east from the bluff at present-day SAIT (1917)
1917
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1416
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Archives Archives NA
Glenbow Credit: City of Calgary / Calgary Credit: ofCity Sunnyside and 10th St from Senator Patrick Burns Memorial Rock Garden
(present-day)
1917
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1416
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Archives Archives NA
Glenbow Credit: City of Calgary / Calgary Credit: ofCity
Homesteaders in Sunnyside, formerly known as New Edinborough, (circa 1911)
1978
Tanko Credit: Hillhurst Sunnyside Remembers, Margaret Credit: Hillhurst Sunnyside
Sunnyside, north bank of the Bow River facing SW (1917)
1917
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1416
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Archives Archives NA
Glenbow Credit: City of Calgary / Calgary Credit: ofCity
Hillhurst Business Section, 10th St and Memorial Dr (1920)
First Sixty FirstYears Sixty
Hillhurst’s
S Remembers 1978 / Hillhurst United Church,United Hillhurst / Remembers S 1978
- Credit: Credit: H Population by Structure Type
Hillhurst Sunnyside Calgary
Converted Converted Townhouse Converted Townhouse 5% 2% 3% 4% 3%
Townhouse 9% Apartment Single Family 11% 27% Single Family 37%
Single Family Apartment Duplex 52% 45% 3% Duplex 30% Apartment Duplex 58% 11%
Source: Calgary City Census, 2014 We are an unusual community Converted Structure refers to the additional dwelling unit in a structure that contains more units than the building was originally designed and built to contain. in terms of demographics! Population by Age
Hillhurst Sunnyside Calgary
Source: Calgary City Census, 2014 Owner-Occupation
% Occupied Dwellings Owner-Occupied 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 % Hillhurst Sunnyside Calgary
Source: Calgary City Census, 2014 Hillhurst Sunnyside: • 1904: Sunnyside incorporated into Calgary Milestones • 1907: Hillhurst annexed • 1910: Hillhurst Athletic Park sold to City • 1914: Hillhurst incorporated into Calgary • 1942: Hillhurst & Sunnyside Community Association formed • 1973: H&S Community Planning Committee formed – Memorial Drive to become a highway – 10 St interchange – Louise Bridge replaced - 2 bridges: 9a St southbound, 10 St northbound • 1980s: Calgary LRT designed for 9a St • 1987: Sunnyside Station built – Catalyst for redevelopment and change Development of ARP
• 1988: Hillhurst Sunnyside Area Redevelopment Plan approved • 2006: City of Calgary, Hillhurst Sunnyside Community, Kensington Business Revitalization Zone and industry partners embark on an extensive 3-year consultation process on a major amendment to the 1988 ARP • 2009: Council approves ARP policies for Part II Transit Oriented Development Area – Major acceleration of investment and redevelopment along the 10th St corridor – Large tracts of undeveloped and City-owned parcels along 9a St when the LRT was constructed – Most recent amendment in 2012; additional amendments expected this year ARP Interpretation (Pushes and Pulls)
• City Planning Department as Development pressure as a stewards of high-level MDP highly desirable inner city objectives • community to live/work/play City’s • Densification and “growing up Long-range view Objectives instead of out” on development • Intensification and change • Flagship Transit-Oriented Development area in Calgary }
• Community as curators of local planning objectives Community • “Preserve and enhance” • Scale, heritage and local Objectives character • Environmental, social sustainability
Development is • Market desirability Developers’ reviewed on a Objectives • Economic viability project-by-project basis
Impact
Eighth Avenue Place (335-8th Ave SW)
Note: this graphic was prepared in February 2013; several major redevelopments have been approved since that time Challenges
• Community engagement for the purpose of gathering feedback on development proposals is managed by a not-for-profit, the Community Association • HSCA Planning Committee consisted of a small group of volunteers and until recently administered by a staff member funded by the Community Association • Development within a community is primarily initiated by for-profit developers and City departments (transportation, transit, parks, corporate properties, etc) and managed by paid staff Community Planning Committee Disbands
• Up until the winter of 2012, community residents volunteered on the Community Planning Committee (CPC) to solicit and submit community members’ feedback on development applications. – Increasing complexity of planning applications – Committee members became overwhelmed with the demands on their time • HSCA-CPC was disbanded in winter 2012 • Interim Planning Committee was formed in the meantime and functioned at a very limited capacity until November 2013 – Limited organizational support and lack of formal structure Revitalized Planning Committee
• Creation of sustainable structure – Terms of Reference ratified by HSCA Board in December 2013 – Clear expectations of committee and volunteers • Membership • Sharing of workload, orientation, etc – Full time staff member for 2015 – Organization, administration, archiving/filing/digitization • Rebranding as Hillhurst Sunnyside Planning Committee (HSPC) • Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association Board announces its partnership with imagineCALGARY – Community planning emerged as one of the top three goals for the organization during community engagement sessions Growing HSPC Membership
Revitalized Planning Committee 16 14 12 10 8
6 # Members # 4 2 0 January 2014 June 2014 December 2014 Members 5 10 15 Activities
HSPC
Communications Policy MSTF Development Heritage Urban Design
Collaboration & Comment on City- Major Sense of Identity & Planning Education Relationship Infill Developments Preservation Wide Policy Developments Placemaking Building
Advisory role, Safety Development Comment on Local Forum for early Community facilitating Commemoration (pedestrians, Updates Initiatives Engagement Participation meetings traffic, etc)
Connecting Density Bonus Discuss high-level Submit Comments Assist residents residents to Levy policy & idea to City Planning (resources, resources (Representation) incubation Dept appeals, ARP) Broader Outreach and Engagement
• Mightybell social media platform – Online posts to share updates, upload planning documents, letters and ability for residents to comment on specific topics – bit.ly/hscaplanning • In addition: – HSCA website (www.hillhurstsunnyside.org) – City’s website (www.calgary.ca/hillhurstsunnyside) – Monthly print magazine articles – Bi-weekly online newsletter articles – Social media links – Telephone, email and in-person communication with residents Ongoing Challenges
• Communication/publicity – Ability to solicit feedback • Representation to a diverse community • Difficult for volunteers to be effective without tremendous dedication – Complex topic – Changing rules – Tight timeframes – Volume of development applications – Other players are full-time professionals (City, applicants) • Limited ability to affect city-wide or policy changes • Integration of wide-ranging topics and various community initiatives Pilot Project: Multi Stakeholder Task Force
• The Hillhurst Sunnyside Multi-Stakeholder Taskforce (MSTF) was convened in February 2013 • A diverse group of residents, local businesses, developers and City of Calgary staff, who came together to co-design a new community engagement and stakeholder feedback process • This new process would serve to: i. Improve the development application process ii. Contribute to good decision-making that addresses the needs and concerns of all stakeholders Multi Stakeholder Task Force Participants
• MSTF is comprised of a cross-section of community stakeholders (BRZ, City of Calgary, HSCA, industry partners) • MSTF meets on a monthly basis to: i. Discuss high-level policy, ii. Share information, iii. Participate in community planning discussions, and iv. Facilitate discussion with development applicants at the front end of the development process (pre-land use) • Memorandum of Understanding currently under review Impact of Community Input
Pre-Application Engagement (if applicable)
Developer Proposal Increasing Formalization of Community Process Feedback
City Review & Decision
Appeal Increasing Opportunity for Community to Influence Final Plans Building Relationships
Additional benefits and
outcomes: Developers/ • Diversity of viewpoints gained Community Partners from stakeholders • Sharing resources and knowledge City of • Instills greater trust Calgary • Working towards common goals (ARP & greater public benefit) Community (HSPC, MSTF, Residents)