CANMORE – A 239-unit residential project in The Gateway commercial area will move ahead after a month postponement to negotiate more affordable housing saw the number of vital homes climb from four to nine.
The Canmore Planning Commission (CPC) approved the development – along with height and eaveline variances – but most of the discussion revolved around the type of community benefit it would have.
Commission members raised whether the added density allowed and the affordable housing provided achieve fair or extraordinary community benefit.
“I believe it generates substantial community benefit,” said public commission member Brian Talbot. “The proposal before us, and as modified, provides substantive quantity of entry-level housing, which this community needs. It contributes to the vital homes program and enhanced environmental elements of the project match up to what council has been striving to attain in the community.”
Of the 239 units, 215 will be a mix of one- and two-bedroom. There will be 166 considered entry-level and 65 are under 630 square feet, with 16 units between 630 and 700 square feet, according to Metafor’s submission to the Town. There will be seven different unit plans. A playground will also be built on-site.
Michelle Ouellete of Latitude Consulting Inc. added the sustainability screening report score was 160.4, with the test to pass being zero “so a score of 160.4 represents an extraordinary net benefit to the community.”
An extra 70 solar panels were also agreed as part of the project, with two of the four buildings having solar panels. Twenty-five per cent of the parking will be electric vehicle charging and the remainder can be fit out to enable it. The plan is 12 per cent above the National Energy Code of Canada.
The Town will collect $5.16 million in off-site levies or $21,600 per unit.
Joanna McCallum, one of two council representatives on CPC, said she felt it was fair community benefit but lacked the extraordinary benefit outlined in the land use bylaw.p
She noted the density bonusing is meant to give an affordable housing unit for every three extra market units, meaning 16 should be required instead of nine.
“Do I think this is fair community benefit? Sure. Is it extraordinary? No. If I were a developer who has been contributing vital home units in this community for over 20 years, would I be happy seeing one of my competitors get a break like this where I have fulfilled the land use bylaw in the past? Probably not,” McCallum said. “That’s the point I come from. Although it produces fair community benefit, it does not produce extraordinary community benefit.
“I don’t know why a developer would ever come forward with the full amount of [affordable housing] required in the bylaw in the future. Why would you? Why would you if someone has got a massive break … but there’s no extraordinary net community benefit in this application. There’s definitely fair community benefit.”
Jeff Hilstad, the other council representative on CPC, added he appreciated the increase from four to nine affordable units but preferred to see more.
“I think there’s benefit. Those nine units will hold their affordability while the other ones the market will dictate,” he said. “Maybe the first buyers will get some affordability and from thereon out it’s anybody’s guess. I think it’s a well thought out development.”
The Town’s land use bylaw has two sections where fair and extraordinary benefit are discussed in relation to affordable housing.
One allows the development authority to modify the three-to-one ratio if a fair benefit to the community is shown, while a separate section outlines variances above what the development authority can give need to have “extraordinary net benefit to the community”.
The land use bylaw allows a maximum building height of 12 metres, but three of the four condos will be 15.6 metres and the other 13.8m. The three townhouses will be 13m.
The maximum eaveline height is nine metres under Canmore’s land use bylaw, but three of the apartments will be 11.7m.
Three of the apartments go above the 20 per cent maximum height and eaveline CPC can consider, but the land use bylaw allows the commission to consider higher percentage variances if “an extraordinary net benefit to the community can be found.” The criteria are historic conservation, enhanced green construction and bonus density.
Whitney Smithers, the chair of the commission and Town’s general manager of municipal infrastructure said “part of the challenge is the language in the bylaw. … The test for [affordable housing] is around that benefit.”
In addition to the solar panels and five added affordable units, two units in each of the four apartments will be held for CCH to purchase at market rate, according to Metafor’s submission.
A letter from Kris Mathieu, interim executive director of Canmore Community Housing (CCH), said they give “general support” and “appreciate” the increase in affordable housing units.
“We are thankful to see the increase in PAH units as the revision closer aligns with the typical requirement of market to non-market units being constructed under the program,” stated Mathieu, adding CCH will have to evaluate the two homes per apartment they can buy at market rate.
“The inclusion of a high number of [entry-level] units in the project is atypical in Canmore, in this sense the Altitude project is innovative allowing for a larger number of units that are intended to be attainable for local to be introduced into the market,” stated a submission from Metafor.
The submission also had recommendations from City of Calgary Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness, FearIsNotLove (formerly Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter), HomeSpace Society and Alberta New Home Warranty Program.
The extra density translates to about 30 per cent more and Canmore residents will have up to 30 days to buy units before selling to the market.
“It is the opinion of the developer and their agents that the Altitude project presents a great opportunity to deliver extra-ordinary community benefit to the community through the contribution the proposed development will provide to the residential housing stock of Canmore,” stated Metafor’s submission.
Logel Homes is one of the largest residential developers in Calgary, specializing in smaller and multiple unit options with greater density. It previously built 24 townhomes in Canmore in Peaks of Grassi in 1999.
The Altitude at Three Sisters Mountain Village will be at the end of the new Cascade Drive and is on a 2.75-hectare lot. The location is part of Stewart Creek and in the under-construction commercial area of The Gateway.
Much of the discussion at the May 22 meeting was if the entry-level housing offered – about 72 per cent or 166 units – was of benefit to the community.
McCallum said entry-level housing has had “zero success in Canmore”, giving examples of Peaks of Grassi, Grotto Mountain Village and housing at 1 Industrial Place as places that were once entry-level but now out of reach for many residents.
In Alberta, however, requiring developers to provide affordable housing isn’t allowed in the Municipal Government Act. Municipalities can incentivize the addition of affordable housing through means such as bonus density, which is part of the Town’s land use bylaw.
Chris Sparrow, principal with Metafor and a representative on the project, noted the three-to-one ratio is a “losing proposition” due to land and construction costs, which lead to the entry-level units rising in price.
Florian Jungen, a long-time public commission member, added he felt affordable housing was “a really critical piece” and “the trade-off for allowing bonus density is perpetually affordable housing units or other extraordinary benefits.”
Jungen said it was important to have entry-level homes to have a variety of housing available, but expressed concern some units may be ideal for people looking for a weekend home in the mountains.
“The problem with the entry-level housing units is they’re not tied to affordability except for their size,” he said. “To me, perpetually affordable housing is by far more benefit to the community since it takes it out of the market and ensures in the long-term it will stay affordable.”
BUILDING BREAKDOWN
- Building No. 1: Four storeys and 40 units. Fifty-four vehicle parking spots and 80 bicycle parking.
- Building No. 2: Three storeys and 63 units. Eighty-eight vehicle parking spots and 128 bicycle parking.
- Building No. 3: Four storeys and 56 units. Seventy-four vehicle parking spots and 112 bicycle parking.
- Building No. 4: Four storeys and 56 units. Seventy-six vehicle parking spots and 112 bicycle parking.
- Buildings No. 5, 6, 7: Three storeys and eight townhomes each. Sixteen vehicle spots each.