The city is presently overhauling the land use bylaw. See for information. It has received third reading (July 2007) and will be implemented in June 2008, but there are outstanding issues being reviewed that may lead to amendments before then.
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November 15, 2006
To the Land Use Bylaw Review Team,
The Calgary Heritage Initiative Society would like to take this
opportunity to thank everyone who has worked on the Land Use Bylaw review
to this point. We have some comments on the current draft, and may make
further comments as the process moves forward and the document evolves. We
would also appreciate the opportunity to discuss these issues further.
Some heritage buildings in Calgary are already officially designated as
heritage resources and are therefore protected. Other buildings of
historic interest are saved because of the attention and intervention of
the heritage community. This community includes the City of Calgary
Heritage Planners, the Calgary Heritage Authority (CHA), aldermen,
communities, and the public at large all working together to enable
positive heritage outcomes.
Certain tools are currently available that are utilized in this process.
The Municipal Inventory of Potential Heritage Sites is one very important
tool that the City uses to manage heritage. Inventoried buildings get some
differential treatment under City policy (density transfers or parking
relaxations in some areas for example). This Inventory is constantly
evolving as new buildings are added to the list and when others are
unfortunately removed due to demolition.
The character of many of Calgary’s favourite communities and streets
depends on many ‘historic’ buildings, not just the ones that have already
gone through the process to be added to the Inventory. We hope that the
forthcoming Heritage Resource Management Plan addresses this issue by
looking at historic districts and streetscapes in addition to individual
buildings. Funding and other resources (especially time) are needed
complete the massive project of thoroughly evaluating all of Calgary's
potential heritage sites.
The Land Use Bylaw, like other City policies, should be supportive of
Calgary’s built heritage by applying policy and procedure that sets
Calgary apart as an international example of how to "do it well". Calgary
has had a reputation of not caring about our heritage. We are all part of
a city-wide initiative to change that perspective.
We therefore have the following suggestions:
1. The present Draft LUB would (for example) allow an applicant to
demolish and replace a house on the Heritage Inventory with another house,
a permitted ‘single contextual dwelling’, without a Development Permit.
This might only come to the attention of the heritage planner when the
Demolition Permit is requested. This lacks public process, makes it
difficult for the heritage planner or CHA to be effective, and essentially
undermines the Heritage Inventory. Development applications for sites on
the Heritage Inventory should always require a Development Permit process
and be reviewed by the Heritage Planner.
2. Because context and sightlines are important heritage considerations,
sites in the vicinity of a Heritage Inventory site should also be
'flagged' and circulated to the Heritage Planner, and be subject to a
Development Permit process. Or, where such an application would normally
not require a Development Permit, perhaps a Development Permit process
could be initiated at the discretion of the Heritage Planner.
3. As mentioned in the preamble, buildings are always being added to
Calgary’s Heritage Inventory, and our historic neighbourhoods are made up
of many buildings that are not presently on the Inventory. We are hopeful
that evolving heritage policy will extend heritage recognition to
streetscapes and neighbourhood areas, as in the case in many other North
American jurisdictions where historic areas are valued. Unless and until
such areas are specifically identified, development applications for
buildings that (for example) are old enough to be on the Heritage
Inventory could be routinely circulated to the Heritage Planner. Again,
where such an application would normally not require a Development Permit,
a Development Permit process could be initiated at the discretion of the
heritage planner.
4. The new Land Use Bylaw appears to make notice posting optional. Public
notice posting is one way that Calgarians can find out about developments
proposed for Inventoried sites, potential inventory sites or in historic
neighbourhoods. This is important if members of the public and community
groups are to be involved in protecting Calgary’s heritage and assisting
in the process of developing alternatives to demolition. Notice posting
should be mandatory for sites on the Inventory and in the heritage-related
cases described above.
5. We also recommend more substantial, durable and informative notice
posting, earlier in the development application process and for a longer
period of time, in order to better inform the public and stimulate public
input into development decisions. Technology should also be employed,
including improved posting of development applications and more detailed
information on the City website (including the posting of development
plans). We believe that many Calgarians would appreciate such
enhancements. Time is of the essence when negotiations are required around
a development proposal on a heritage building.
6. Finally, we want to support the parking relaxation for heritage
buildings that is in the land use bylaw as this will aid in preservation
efforts.
Thank you for consideration of our comments.
Sincerely,
Janet Woolgar,
President
Calgary Heritage Initiative Society
info@calgaryheritage.org
www.calgaryheritage.org