As Bowness development continues, residents reflect on changing community
Blanket rezoning has drawn developers to inner-city Calgary neighbourhood
What was once a small bungalow in Bowness has made way for a new rowhouse development designed for up to eight families.
It's only one of many high-density housing projects underway in the northwest Calgary neighbourhood, which has been sought after by developers since city council approved blanket rezoning last May.
The policy change was contentious, as the decision was preceded by Calgary's longest-ever council meeting that saw over 700 residents speak at a public hearing. Some in the city have continued to challenge the policy throughout the year following council's decision.
The designer behind that rowhouse development, Cesar Amaya of Amaya Design, told the Calgary Eyeopener the blanket rezoning bylaw has been a gamechanger.
"It's saving so much time," said Amaya. "Before, we had to go through the rezoning process to be able to build something like this, and for them to just be able to go straight to applications with this, it's been amazing."
The development was approved by the city last June, just under a month after council approved blanket rezoning.
Amaya said he landed on building in Bowness due to the neighbourhood's natural beauty, as well as its proximity to downtown and the mountains.
"It's just a great place for families to move into," he said.
With up to eight families moving into a unit that previously held one, Amaya acknowledged there's been pushback from some residents due to concerns around issues like parking.
"It isn't a perfect solution," Amaya said on blanket rezoning. "But I think it's a needed solution for the housing crisis we're living through."
Blanket rezoning was billed as a response to Calgary's growing population and concerns around housing insecurity, but some residents remain unconvinced.
Aging infrastructure in a growing neighbourhood
Bowness resident Jean Woeller, one of the 736 speakers at last year's public hearing, told the Calgary Eyeopener she considered blanket rezoning a "cop out," because it doesn't account for the specific needs of different communities.
"I didn't believe that blanket rezoning was real urban planning," she said.
Since city council approved blanket rezoning, Woeller said Bowness — which had been attracting development permit applications long before council's decision — is "radically changing."
"Even before the hearing, you'd see signs of developers willing to purchase your home all through the neighourhood," Woeller said. "[Now] every corner lot is being converted into multiplexes."
She pointed to the strain a higher population density could put on the community's aging infrastructure as one of her concerns around increased development.
Woeller, once part of the Bowness Community Association planning team, said she felt the neighbourhood wasn't properly consulted about blanket rezoning by the city. With a municipal election approaching this fall, she said she hopes a new council is elected that will reverse last year's decision.
Nature, business and a sense of community
A trio of Bowness residents shared a range of opinions on development in their community with the Calgary Eyeopener.
"I'm a fan of building up instead of building out, so I do appreciate that we're doing it. I just think it needs to be smart," said Michelle Edworthy, a Bownesian of 15 years.
Edworthy, who has a background in agriculture and environmental education, said her concerns revolve around social issues and the environment.
"There needs to be thought about how to build for the people who are already here," said Edworthy, expressing concern about whether existing residents could be priced out of the community as it grows.
She said that she and many others were drawn to Bowness due to its natural scenery, which development may put at risk.
'We're losing beautiful trees," Edworthy said. "How do we landscape in a way that honours this space and our continuity with the park space?"
Shawn Graham, owner and operator of Bona Roma Little Italian Eatery, welcomes growth as an opportunity to increase his customer base.
"The more mouths that move into Bowness, the more I get to feed," he said.
As a local restaurateur, growth is good for Graham. But after living in the neighbourhood for half a century, he doesn't want to see Bowness lose what makes it Bowness.
"I don't necessarily like the tearing down of beautiful old homes, the architecture, the trees," he said.
"We're just going to have to work harder to try and sustain some of it. Things get torn down way too fast.
Fellow Bownesian business owner Melba Seto said she wants to ensure the community keeps its spirit as it grows.
"It's our duty as Bownesians to really inspire people to continue the traditions that we already have," said Seto, owner of Bowness Soapspace.
Seto said she considers growth to be important, but she expressed concerns around "very aggressive development."
"People move to Bowness because they want to have that sense of community, and that bond between your neighbours and your friends," she said. "When you have such an aggressive build, you have people that don't have that opportunity to actually build those relationships."
Responding to rapid population growth
Reid Hendry, the city's new chief housing officer, called the pace of development in Bowness a "natural response" to the population growth Calgary's experienced in the last couple years.
With higher-density housing units being developed throughout Calgary, Hendry said "the normal state of cities is change, is growth, is adaptation."
He applauded blanket rezoning's implementation, arguing it removes a time-consuming step in a process through which the overwhelming majority of development permit applications are approved anyway.
But Hendry acknowledged residents' concerns around the changes that come with increased development.
He urged developers to consult communities and ensure "what we are designing and implementing is working, [while also] recognizing that change will occur."
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With files from the Calgary Eyeopener