Some Hardisty homeowners look to battle lot-splitting
But experts warn restrictive covenants can adversely affect property values
Edmonton could see its largest, most prescriptive legal covenant signed yet this Sunday and some people are warning residents to be careful.
The legal agreement — a caveat to be voluntarily placed on homeowners’ properties — would prevent lot splitting and skinny houses on participating lots in the Greater Hardisty area.
But it also prevents duplexes, row houses, large daycares, homebased businesses with more than one employee and any relaxation on a two-stall per house parking requirement.
“Many of the neighbours around where I am have the same perspective, it’s just a matter of preserving the community,” said John Smith, a resident on 108 Avenue who plans to sign the legal covenant Sunday. He lives in an area with large front yards and single-storey homes.
“We want a lot to be a lot. It’s a home,” he said. “In my area, there’s half a dozen of us in a row that are going to sign.”
The movement toward restrictive covenants grew out of frustration with new infill opportunities allowed by City Hall. First residents in neighbourhoods such as Rio Terrace, Lansdowne and Valleyview put up anti-subdivision signs in 2015. Then they started to ban it.
Westbrook Estates was the first to sign its covenant last fall, getting roughly 65 per cent of residents committed, said Darren Jacknisky, one of the organizers. They’re now going back to approach residents who recently bought properties not yet included, and they’ve heard anecdotally some people are buying in Westbrook because the covenant lets them know what to expect.
There are 290 single-family homes in the neighbourhood, which surrounds the Derrick Golf and Winter Club.
‘EYES WIDE OPEN’
Ward 8 Coun. Ben Henderson said he worries people signing this might not understand the full consequences.
“People need to be doing it with their eyes wide open,” he said, urging residents in Greater Hardisty to seek legal counsel first. “I just worry it’s not in their best interest. If you sign it and your neighbour doesn’t, all you’ve done is bring down the value of your property. You’re restricting what your property can be used for.”
Greater Hardisty includes the neighbourhoods of Capilano, Fulton Place and Gold Bar — more than 2,700 properties with singlefamily homes where owners would be eligible to sign.
LOTS OF INTEREST
The community drew up the agreement together, with various residents lobbying for clauses that were important to them, said Smith.
“I know there is a lot of interest. We’ll have to see if they actually come out and sign,” said Smith.
Once signed, the covenant or caveat is registered with the Alberta Land Titles Office. It stays with the land, no matter who owns it.
The Greater Hardisty covenant includes a note that it can be reopened and amended every 10 years, but only if 75 per cent of the people currently owning the land in the covenant agree. Taking neighbours to court “They’ve essentially written their own zoning,” said Kalen Anderson, a director in Edmonton’s planning department.
The city doesn’t take a position on whether residents should do this or not, but it will not enforce the agreement. Residents have to take their neighbours to court if they feel someone is out of line, she said. That’s what happens in Glenora, where half the neighbourhood has a covenant from 1911.
“We have community members who are suing each other. I wouldn’t characterize this as a positive development,” Anderson said.
Restrictive covenants were common in the early 1900s, before cities wrote zoning regulations. But they “reflect the thinking of a moment in time,” said Anderson, pointing to one rule in the Glenoraarea caveat that requires homeowners to spend at least $3,000 to build their home.
“One hundred years from now, what if 75 per cent (of Greater Hardisty caveat holders) never got it together in all these decade check-ins and we were stuck with caveats that insisted on parking stalls and we’re not even using cars?” she said.
“That’s why the zoning bylaw, it’s a living thing and it constantly adapts,” she said. “What do you do with your property if you’ve locked into one way of thinking ... but the rest of the world is moving in a different direction? We’re just on the cusp of looking forward to what will happen next with (artificial intelligence) or automated vehicles.”