City may sell Riverside road portions
A new plan to guide future development and land use in Riverside could mean selling off portions of city roads that appear and function as driveways for luxury shoreline homes in the area.
Or it may not, according to city officials, who say community response to the possibility will guide decision making.
More than 200 residents took part in an open house Tuesday that laid out upcoming city projects in the community and the process of a zoning review by the city planning department.
As well, the city is asking about avenues that extend south of First Street, but dead end at the shoreline greenspace.
Those have been a source of controversy over the years, with adjacent landowners arguing they serve no purpose but to encourage pedestrians onto their property.
Some other community residents have argued the roads provide access to public land on the South Saskatchewan River.
Development commissioner Stan Schwartzenberger said that since the upcoming plan will become a basis for future decision making by planners, it is a good time to survey the community on the issue.
“The intent is to explore the question of these undeveloped road allowances from multiple perspectives to determine options and make recommendations on their future use,” Schwartzenberger told the News. “I’m looking forward to hearing and reading the ideas that residents have with regard to these areas.”
The roadways, often less than half a block long, were a source of contention in 2015, when city council upheld a bylaw order to remove a vehicle gate that two owners had constructed across to block general access.
At that time council voted to deny an appeal of the bylaw order to remove the structure, and one of the owners stated that the city had gone back and forth on selling the lanes over the years.
The Area Redevelopment Plan will also see planners survey residents about things like infill development and front street garages.
The results will be compiled and presented to residents for further comment at future meetings. Planners hope to have a final draft of the plan before council in August.
Block land sale
The city’s land and properties is also testing the mood among city builders regarding a new subdivision in the community’s west end.
Land office official John Bulmer told the News at Tuesday’s meeting that a large residential plot on the 400 block of Third Street NW has been in the land bank for years.
There are no urgent plans to develop it but officials felt the open house would be a good opportunity to shop the land to potential developers, likely in an unbroken block.