Battle over Chinatown bylaw changes heating up
Controversial bylaw tweaks opponents fear would forever erode the fabric of Calgary’s beloved Chinatown will be back at city hall on Monday after several months of consultation one lobby group claims was flawed.
Community members are planning to march to city hall on Friday at lunchtime, to show their support for one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, ahead of what’s expected to be a lengthy public hearing at city council on Monday.
At issue is a pitch from Manu Chugh Architects Ltd. to develop a 27-storey building on an existing parking lot on 3rd Avenue and 1st Street S.W., a process that involves amending the land-use designation and existing 30-year-old Chinatown Area Redevelopment Plan, which limits building heights to 15 storeys.
Some fear such a development would set a dangerous precedent that would threaten Chinatown’s culture vibrancy and distinct heritage and lead to the eventual disappearance of the one-of-a-kind district that’s home to dozens of businesses and 2,104 people.
The development application was deferred twice by city council and in April, Calgary’s elected officials again held off on making a decision regarding the request, and instead asked for more consultation and a scoping report for a future Chinatown Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP).
Now, following what the city calls an “extensive two-phase public engagement process,” city administration has developed a set of eight guiding principles, which its recommending council approve on Monday as an interim guide to be used with the existing ARP and other city policies until a new ARP is approved by council.
Council will also have its say on the application to increase the height and density of the existing parking lot, though city administration has recommended changes to the proposed land use application.
Those tweaks include maintaining the existing height of buildings on 2 Avenue S.W., but not on 3 Avenue S.W., requiring the incorporation of “Chinese/Asian cultural motifs/architectural elements” into new area buildings, and demanding a specific residential component to any development.
Terry Wong, with the Chinatown District BRZ, said he’s still concerned about the height of the proposed building, which will “distort Chinatown as we know it.”
“It’s the equivalent of putting the Bow Building in the middle of Heritage Park,” he said.
In a report going to council, the city said the recommendations came after hearing from more than 3,600 online participants and 1,100 others via engagement (in three languages) including pop-up on street events, a walking tour, sounding board and in-person interviews.
But, Teresa Woo-Paw, facilitator with the Chinatown Taskforce, said the engagement wasn’t good enough.
“The process is flawed. It wasn’t designed to ensure the impacted residents and community have the full opportunity to participate in the process,” she said.
While Woo-Paw said residents feel they weren’t given “open and fair treatment,” area councillor Druh Farrell said she’s confident the community was engaged extensively.
“Recognizing the uniqueness of Chinatown, we engaged more than we have with any other development project, in my experience,” she said.