Some residents in the northwest Calgary community of Montgomery are expressing concerns with a proposal to replace an existing single-family home with an eight-unit building.
The site causing contention sits at 2004 52 Street N.W.
The proposed change would see a fourplex built on the site with four basement suites and four garages.
Arden Conley has lived in the neighbourhood for five decades and says he was shocked to learn of the proposal, which would transform the lot next to his.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “Everything I’ve worked for over the past 50 years, and the city is just destroying our community, they don’t seem to care about the citizen and it’s so sad.”
Conley says that the development would require him to remove the entire fence surrounding his backyard, and argues the proposed 9.86-metre height of the building would take away his privacy.
“The walls of this building go 35 feet in the air too, they’ll block out all the sunlight to my garden as well,” he said.
“You know, I used to be proud of this community, and I’m not sure I’m so proud to be a Calgarian right now the way the city has been treating us.”
David Baker lives just across the street from the proposed Montgomery development and pointed to concerns over parking, adding that 52 Street N.W. is already a one-way with bike lanes and no available space to park vehicles.
“The city only allows for 0.5 parking stalls per unit in these developments, which means only four parking stalls are provided even though there are eight units in this building,” Baker said. “There really isn’t much parking on the street available as it is.
Baker’s other main concern has to do with infrastructure.
“As we know, Montgomery was the site of a major water main break last year. Even in this area alone, we’ve had four water main breaks over the last year, so there’s questions surrounding 60- to 70-year-old infrastructure and if it’s suitable to support this kind of development.”
Nancy Child, who lives nearby, echoed those concerns, stating that most cyclists and pedestrians flow into the community from already-overcrowded Home Road N.W..
“To increase the density of this area is actually going to increase the danger to local cyclists and pedestrians, in my opinion,” Child said.
City to review development concerns
Calgary city council’s approval of blanket rezoning in May 2024 has sparked controversy as residential areas in the city that used to only allow single or semi-detached homes now allow the development of row houses and townhouses.
As part of the development process for this proposal, the city will review the application.
In a statement to CTV News, the City of Calgary says it will review the application’s alignment with city bylaws and engineering requirements to ensure new buildings meet the rules for height, lot coverage, setbacks and landscaping.
“Our review will seek to balance technical requirements, citizen comments, potential impacts from new development and other objectives such as accommodating growth in our established areas and achieving greater affordability,” read the statement.
A full evaluation is expected to be issued in April 2025, and public feedback can be provided to the city until March 27 online.
The development application for 2004 52 Street N.W. was submitted by Renocal Inc., a local architectural designer in Calgary.
Sara Karimiavval, who submitted the application on behalf of Renocal, provided a brief statement to CTV News to acknowledge concerns from community members.
“I believe it’s important for communities to include clear provisions in their zoning titles to restrict multifamily developments in certain neighborhoods,” she said.
“In my opinion, this approach ensures safety and stability for both the community and investors. It also protects those who build single-family homes from potential negative impacts on their investments due to adjacent multifamily developments.”
Area councillor reacts
Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong represents the northwest community of Montgomery.
He tells CTV News he recognizes the concerns of constituents who are opposed to the development.
Wong is running for re-election in the upcoming municipal election under the Communities First YYC Party.
One of the party’s platform items includes a removal of blanket rezoning and restoring community voice.
“Every application is different,” he said. “There are times when a rowhouse or townhouse does fit, but again there are situations when it doesn’t, so reach out to your counsellors because we’ve lost out on that public voice.
“It may increase the councillor’s workload, but we brought it on ourselves, so we have to step up and serve our constituents.”
