'Brutal, not gentle densification': Windsor Park up in arms over council allowing more development

Proposed apartment in Windsor Park Windsor Park residents turned out to city hall on Monday to oppose a new apartment building. Jeremy Thompson reports.

After hearing from concerned residents, city council approved Monday the rezoning of land in Windsor Park to accommodate a proposed six-storey apartment building with 172 units.

Developer Westrich Pacific was seeking a rezoning to allow for a mid-rise apartment complex near 118 Street and 87 Avenue, directly across from Windsor Park School. Councillors considered that proposal at a lengthy public hearing, ultimately supporting it in a 9-3 vote.

There is already an 11-storey mixed-use building under construction adjacent to the site on the south edge called Windsor Terrace. It is expected to open in 2024.

For area residents, that pace of densification and the proposed development's site were major issues. Westrich's building would have an underground parking garage that exits from the back alley between 117 and 118 streets.

Traffic analysis suggests that would raise the number of daily two-way trips by car from 150 to 750. Part of the developer's construction commitment is to upgrade the back alley to a commercial grade six-metre wide lane and upgrade traffic signage in the area.

'WRONG LOCATION'

One hundred residents wrote to Westrich opposing the new development, citing traffic concerns as well as immediate neighbours losing access to sunlight.

After living in the city's southwest suburbs, Eddie Du and his family bought a home in Windsor Park.

"When I first heard about this six-storey massive building breaking into our neighbourhood, and it's going to sit right next to our house, the first thing that came to my mind is to move our family out of here," he told council.

"It's chasing away people like us who want to raise our family in this neighbourhood."

While acknowledging Edmonton's needs to increase densification, Joe Miller, with the Windsor Park Citizens Coalition, said the location is not ideal.

"It's not on an arterial road, and it's too big," Miller said. "This is a massive development. It's the size of the football field the Edmonton Elks play on."

"It is not [going to be] built on the corner site that fronts onto an arterial or service road," echoed Eliza Li, a fellow group member and resident. "In fact, it is built in the interior of our community."

In response to traffic concerns, Westrich said it will build two new crosswalks in the area, a new sidewalk and bus pad along the north edge of 87 Avenue.

To better accommodate school pick up and drop off, a sidewalk and connection to the school will be built along 119 Street at the cost of the developer.

Jesse Hawkings explained how the Windsor Park Community League asked the developer to change the size and height to better fit the neighbourhood aesthetic.

Richie Lam, Westrich Pacific's CEO, said those concerns were incorporated into the final design, which shrunk the proposal from a high-rise apartment to a six-storey multi-level building with a courtyard and landscaping.

'JAMMING GROWTH INTO ONE CITY BLOCK'

Rolf Mirus, an area resident who has a secondary suite, says the neighbourhood is organically densifying with skinny homes or separate rentals.

"For residents of 117th Street like us, the proposed redevelopment is like a huge cruise liner docked permanently across the alley," he said. "The shading study says we will have little to no sun after 4 p.m. between March and September."

"[This is] brutal, not gentle densification."

Karen Hughes pressed council for answers on how city administration tracks overall densification efforts by neighbourhood, saying she could not get that data and had to sift through online building permits herself.

"The city doesn't even know," she said. "Do we know how many units have been built?"

"Do you know the pace of growth for the entire district or the neighbourhoods? Why are we not talking about these things? Why isn't there a dashboard?" she questioned.

"You are jamming growth into one city block. It's actually over a 3,000 per cent increase of one city block in our neighbourhood."

While Mayor Amarjeet Sohi recognized the city can learn from this experience, he said the neighbourhood is ready to accommodate the new residents, with strong bus transit service, an LRT station only 900 metres away and nearby bike lanes.

"We need to better utilize that infrastructure," he said. "We need to create opportunities in every community for affordable housing.

"Yes, this project would not be as affordable as compared to Mill Woods or Castle Downs, but it will still be affordable compared to what the single-family home price is in that neighbourhood."

Councillors Michael Janz, Karen Principe and Jennifer Rice were the lone votes in opposition to the rezoning application.

Representing Ward Anirniq, Coun. Erin Rutherford recognized the new development would change the Windsor Park neighbourhood's character.

"When we've had other communities come and talk about similar impacts, we've still approved that," Rutherford added.

In her view, Edmonton needs more market-driven affordable housing and a better mix of rental options.

"There's no possible way that you are going to get lower density than this proposal in front of us today at a price that doesn't price people out in this area," she said.

Westrich Pacific intends to break ground on the new apartment development by the end of this year.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson