More robust design reviews needed for developments near LRT stations: Iveson

Mayor Don Iveson said he’ll push for all major new developments around LRT stations to get an additional design review after more than two dozen people turned out Friday to oppose towers proposed for Holyrood Gardens.

The project would have three 22- and 18-storey towers lining 85 Street in the Holyrood neighbourhood, but neighbours worry new site rules sought by Regency Developments are too vague.

Residents say the buildings don’t follow Edmonton’s planning guidelines, put towers across the back alley from single-family homes and the developer failed to adequately include residents in the design process.

Iveson said the vague details in the plan make it hard for city council to determine whether the negative impacts to the neighbourhood are worth the benefits of increased density.

“Here we see blocks of large buildings without a sense of what the final detail and finishes will look like,” he said, suggesting a review by the Edmonton Design Committee would add definition.

Council’s public hearing started at 9:30 a.m. and was expected to go late into the evening.

Regency Developments is selling this as a rare opportunity to add a large population directly beside the new $1.8-billion LRT line.

The company will start work immediately to get the utility services done before TransEd shuts down the right of way for LRT construction, said Stantec’s Nancy MacDonald, a consultant for project owner Regency Developments.

She said they’ve been working with the city and residents on developing the plan for the last 19 months, shifting the height and density as far from existing singlestorey homes as possible.

“Everyone gets something in terms of trade-offs.”

But residents said better alternatives simply weren’t considered.

Consultation was so prescriptive, said resident Trina Innes, at one open house residents had to “carve out space” on the glossy boards to protest they didn’t want option A or B.

“(We need a) process where people are heard, respected, where we get to know other perspectives around the process,” said Shelley Sabo, another resident who pointed to several other major redevelopments recently that have not encountered this level of community opposition.

The Holyrood residents formed their own committee, created their own website to get information out, ran their own exit surveys at the open houses, and distributed flyers throughout the neighbourhood, all because they felt the developer and city efforts were not enough.

Stantec’s Simon O’Byrne said the zoning rules for the five-hectare site needed to be flexible because the building plans will shift as the market shifts during the five- to 10-year construction window.