Lake Bonavista residents fight blanket rezoning with 'restrictive covenants'

A restrictive covenant sign sits in front of a home in Lake Bonavista. (CTV News)

A group of residents in the southeast Calgary community of Lake Bonavista are hoping their latest attempt to stop the city from ushering in blanket rezoning will fend off developers from looking to pave change in their community.

Karen Robinson has lived in the community since she was a child. She spearheaded a campaign called the Restrictive Covenants Initiative for Lake Bonavista.

A restrictive covenant is a restriction that land owners can add to their land titles to prevent the use of a land change, to preserve it, unless legally agreed upon by all parties involved to make a change, which has proved difficult.

"The more of those that we can have on any given street, the more reassurance we have as homeowners of what will and won't be built on our individual streets," said Robinson.

She says it gives residents a legal way to protect their property from any future changes and wants others to join.

"We really were just looking for a way to come together as a community to help preserve the nature of our neighbourhood as one of single-family homes, with good-sized lots and mature trees and tot lots on the streets," she said.

Robinson says she does not want to see her community change.

"I moved to Lake Bonavista when I was four years old, lived here with my family, went to school here in the community, and left for a number of years, but then had the opportunity to return to Lake Bonavista and raise my own family here," she said.

"It's definitely a neighbourhood that's very near and dear to my heart and that I would like to see preserved."

She adds that as one of the older communities in Calgary, many residents have never left.

"It's particularly distressing for them to think that the neighbourhood that they've called home for so many years could potentially become unrecognizable," she said.

"If there's multiplexes and row houses and particularly if developers are able to build row across multiple pieces of property as well, and do that through a land assembly."

'They're fighting back'

Residents have retained lawyer Curtis Marble, a partner at Carbert Waite LLP, to draft the documents for residents, which cost $500 to add to their land title.

"Certainly been an uptick in the in the number of people contacting us," said Marble.

"It's not trying to prevent densification of Lake Bonavista, it allows for that (secondary suites). What it does do is put some parameters around what types of new development, to increase density will be permitted on the lots that, where the owners choose to participate."

Marble says about 20 per cent of the community has jumped on board with the idea, while eight other communities in Calgary have also sought out his legal advice.

"They're fighting back. This is their way to fight back and try to make a point," said Ward 1 councillor Sonya Sharp.

"You can't blame people for wanting to keep investment in their single biggest investment in their lives and sometimes that's their home."

Sharp was questioned Monday about the several communities taking this step. Many have been critical of city council's decision this year after voting in favour of city-wide blanket rezoning.

Sharp, however, adds that restrictive covenants might not be the best option.

"These things can also be fought from maybe a new land owner, a developer, and it may not actually hold any weight at the city," she said.

"If you want to go to an extent, a length of making sure you're maintaining a certain built form, you would do a direct control, not a restrictive covenant. So you would get together, a block of people and say, 'This is a direct control and we are applying to be single family.' You will need to come to council to have that land use approved, but that will hold way more weight than a restrictive covenant would."

Sharp admits it would have to receive a majority of council's votes.

Robinson says 70 households signed up from the initial meeting, but hundreds more have contacted her to get involved. They plan to provide an update at the initiative's Oct. 1 meeting.