North Hill Area Plan heads to council mired in controversy and 'misinformation'
It's a plan that would shape redevelopment in nine inner-city communities, and it's drawing up support and opposition from across Calgary.
The North Hill Communities Local Area Plan will go to council for consideration on Monday.
The document is part of city administration's attempt to streamline planning and redevelopment.
It would, according to ward 9 councillor Gian-Carlo Carra, be sort of a blueprint to help shape building decisions in the future.
Carra believes Monday's vote is long overdue: just like the document.
"I'm supporting a plan that drives generational reinvestment and balances preservation with change over time," Carra told CTV News.
But there's plenty of opposition.
Some Calgarians are convinced the proposal could put single family detached homes and older neighbourhoods in jeopardy. Renfrew Resident Megan Waldie believes, if passed, the plan could open the door to developers and density in areas that aren't suited to it.
She's also concerned a yes on Monday could lead to a blanket yes when it comes to future plans.
"While it doesn't rezone anything right now, it is taking away some of the power and potential community members have in terms of killing any kind of land re-designation," Waldie said.
Carra disagrees.
He says a lot of the opposition talking points surrounding density are "a result of misinformation."
"When individual propositions come forward, we're still going to have conversations about them," he said. "But now, out conversations will be informed by this larger and more thoughtful process."
The plan won't guarantee development.
The president of the Highland Park Community Association says she thinks it'll only help with order.
"Our community has been without any kind of overarching guidance or vision to guide the redevelopment," Jeanne Kimber said. "I've lived in this community since 1985, and it has been changing regardless. The North Hill Communities Local Area Plan does not mean suddenly everything is going to be bulldozed down, because the change will just keep on happening incrementally. At least the plan will help direct where some of that redevelopment pressure goes and where the higher density goes."
The LAP has been in the planning stages since 2018. There's been a public hearing and public engagement.
Council also made amendments to the plan in April.
But some opponents say the time between the revisions being made public and Monday's vote isn't enough. They want another chance to be heard.
"People who have invested a lot of money in character and community in the space want a say," council candidate Terry Wong said. "And that's all we're asking for."
Councillors believe Monday's decision will be a tight one. Some are even predicting a 7-7 tie.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.