Residents unhappy about plan to build affordable housing in Bowness greenspace.

A group of Bowness residents gathered at a small greenspace on Bowness Road on Saturday to oppose plans to put up a new building.

The space at 6623 Bowness Road currently has a small playground and about a dozen small trees.

Area residents say it’s been a part of their community for 30 years

“They just planted these beautiful trees that have been neglected by the City of Calgary,” said Jackie Stebanuk, a Bowness resident. “Leslie and I, my co-worker, have already signed up 450-plus signatures by just standing at this park, people coming to us.”

This parcel of land was awarded by the city to Trellis Society to build affordable housing. It is one of three city-owned parcels, the others being in Erlton and Parkdale, and is part of the city’s housing strategy.

The city aims for the properties to be turned into about 100 new, below-market housing units to help alleviate the housing crisis, but Bowness residents say this isn’t the way to do it.

“They’re upset that another park is going to get taken away. You can take a park away, but you can’t add it once the buildings are up. This building is going to be higher than what our houses are, so therefore it’s going to shadow us out and take our privacy, so it’s affecting all of us,” said Stebanuk.

The city will be holding open houses on Sunday and Monday to gather feedback from residents.