Letter to PCPS
Letter to PCPS
Parkland Community Planning Services
404-4808 Ross Street
Red Deer, AB T4N 1X5
20 April 2010
Dear Mr. Lindhout,
As the board for of the Waskasoo Community Association we have requested a Neighbourhood Area Redevelopment Plan and a related Mature Neighbourhood Overlay District , similar to that which was done for Parkvale. In your correspondence to us of June 2, 2009 you indicate that PCPS is doing an analysis, in the fourth quarter, of all mature neighbourhoods within the City to determine criteria and priority for an ARP. You also indicate that we will be contacted as a part of this analysis. As it is already November we would like to know what timeline you anticipate for this work to be done. Our neighbourhood is one of the oldest in the city and as such we feel strongly that it should be prioritized as a part of your analysis.
We have noticed that this type of work has recently been done for the Riverside Meadows neighbourhood and would like to see similar consideration given to our community. In your correspondence to us, you reference a district Statement of Significance (SOS) as a first step in developing an overlay district. While we would like a SOS for appropriate parts of our neighbourhood, we do not see this as a precursor to the development of a mature neighbourhood overlay district or an ARP. An example would be Parkvale, which we do not think has a district SOS but does have a Mature Neighbourhood overlay district.
The district SOS is an important heritage protection tool that we would like to see developed for the significant areas of our neighbourhood. As the City is currently working on their Heritage Site Survey and Places of Interest List for heritage designation this is something that we will potentially request as a part of that process, as many of the homes in the affected areas of our neighbourhood have been identified on this list or are already designated HS. We feel that as a community that values heritage, as Red Deer references in their most recent Greater Downtown Action Plan, the City of Red Deer needs to value one of it's oldest neighbourhoods by working to help preserve it.
As we had indicated in our previous correspondence we have concerns related to requests for subdivision, building permit relaxations, and possible rezoning requests (as has been indicated to our community by Chinooks Edge School Division with regards to the River Glen property). All of these items have the potential to alter our community in ways that could affect the current residents, the surrounding parkland, adjacent migratory bird sanctuary and the character defining elements of our neighbourhood including the built and natural heritage. In addition to these issues there are existing challenges with regards to traffic, crime prevention and playground spaces.
As the board of the Waskasoo Community Association it is our responsibility to address these concerns and look to work with the City of Red Deer to develop bylaws or plans that will support the current and future residents of our neighbourhood. We specifically have concerns with any rezoning and subdivisions as there has not been a professional assessment of what the effects will be on our community as a whole. We would like to officially request that the proper planning and bylaw provisions be done in accordance with The City of Red Deer Planning and Subdivision Guidelines, incorporating the entire Waskasoo neighbourhood with consideration of traffic, character defining elements of the neighbourhood, existing utilities infrastructure, playground space, environmentally sensitive areas and natural heritage.
Doing this planning in a timely manner is important, for our community and for the City of Red Deer to ensure future developments are appropriate and celebrate the character of the neighbourhood, as well as to be able to support development and infrastructure repair efficiencies. We would like to point out that the planned repaving of 45th Avenue next year might present an opportunity to incorporate traffic calming measures along that street.
Sound planning is important in any community and the City of Red Deer has a strong history of this but there is the real possibility of that being missed, particularly in older neighbourhoods, when in-fill and other new developments are not planned in the context of the whole community. As with the Parkvale and Riverside Meadows neighbourhoods, plans and bylaws have been put in place to address this and we are asking for no less for our community.
The residents of the Waskasoo neighbourhood love this community. We look forward to working with you to ensure that this unique area of Red Deer remains the great place it is to live. Thank you for your consideration of our request and we look forward to hearing from you.
For your reference, a draft of Mature Neighbourhood Overlay on our website at http://waskasoo.info/
Sincerely,
Guillermo Barron, Secretary
Waskasoo Community Association
4528 Waskasoo Crescent
City T4N 2M2
