What should the future of housing in St. Albert look like?
St. Albertans will get a chance to participate in a drop-in style community workshop looking at the topic of residential districts next week.
The residential district review community workshop is one of four of public consultations the city is hosting next week in a one-stop shop approach that will also include information on changes to sign regulation and digital displays, along with a proposed land annexation.
The events are all being held at the Red Willow Church on Jan. 28 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Changes to residential use districts could allow different forms of housing to take root in St. Albert.
The community workshop on residential districts will involve different stations where people can get information on different forms of housing and topics like sustainability issues, said Bonnie McInnis from Stantec. The consulting company has been asked to work on a report with recommendations on potential amendments to St. Albert’s land use bylaw relating to residential districts and McInnis is the lead planner on the project.
“It’s going to be pretty high level, we’re not going to get into the specifics of regulations,” said McInnis. “We just want to get feedback from the community of what it is that they can support.”
Public feedback, like the kind that will be sought next Thursday, will help inform the report. There will be a chance to both give short comments or to fill out a longer comment form.
“We’re going to try and present a pretty broad spectrum of all of the different kinds of housing that are sort of typically being constructed within the capital region, or even sort of broader Alberta context,” McInnis said.
The work has been sparked by past council direction.
“This was done to consider a broader range of housing forms and sustainability measures as a response to council’s previous direction to encourage housing diversity and address specific gaps in the city’s housing stock,” said Lory Scott, the city’s affordable housing liaison.
A housing diversity report previously presented to council identified gaps like a need for a bigger spectrum of rental housing and encouraging new housing types and forms with lower price pints for single people and families trying to break into the market.
Scott said it would be nice if interested attendees could RSVP for the community workshop, though it is not necessary. People who can’t make the workshop but would still like to offer their two cents can search “residential district review” online and find links to a site where they can give feedback.
Aside from the community workshop, those stopping by Red Willow Church on Thursday will have a chance to look at proposed changes to sign regulations and digital displays and offer feedback.
Information on the boundary tweaking currently proposed between St. Albert and Edmonton will also be available.
