{"id":600022,"date":"2026-04-12T23:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T23:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/600022\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T23:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T23:05:13","slug":"garneau-community-looks-to-retain-historical-charm-while-meeting-city-density-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/600022\/","title":{"rendered":"Garneau community looks to retain historical charm while meeting city density goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One of Edmonton\u2019s oldest neighbourhoods is taking steps to preserve its historical character while meeting city density targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Garneau community league is proposing expanding the neighbourhood\u2019s existing special character residential area, a designation which is aimed at preserving unique features through more restrictive zoning regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This comes after the city announced its plans for priority growth areas last May<\/a>, where the Garneau area was identified as a major node. This means increasing density in the area is a top priority for the city.<\/p>\n

Members of the community league aren\u2019t opposed to the city\u2019s density targets, but some worry the growth plans are not specific enough, said Steph Neufeld, the president of the Garneau community league.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re the densest community in Edmonton. We can all agree on the city plan, increasing density in core neighborhoods,\u201d she told CBC News Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the thing that we’re doing here is just \u2026 really looking at how can we do that in a way that actually grows where we want to grow and preserves what we actually that’s actually working in our neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ASteph Neufeld, the president of the Garneau community league, says more needs to be done to preserve the neighbourhood\u2019s history during new development. (Nicole Healey\/CBC)<\/p>\n

According to league projections, by placing more of Garneau under the special designation, the region\u2019s maximum build-out potential would decrease from 593 people and jobs per hectare to 552 \u2014 a number the group noted is well above the city\u2019s target of 250.<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s proposal would also require amending the Scona District Plan, a land use policy which guides city zoning decisions, to include the expanded character residential area.<\/p>\n

But, as Neufeld noted, the only exceptions to these densifying zoning decisions are heritage properties and those within the existing special character residential area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently, special character residential areas under the district plan can be home to infill development as long as it maintains the area\u2019s character and existing streetscape.<\/p>\n

\"AThe Garneau Community League is proposing expanding the neighbourhood\u2019s existing special character residential area as plans to increase density wage on. (Submitted by Garneau Community League)<\/p>\n

Neufeld said more needs to be done to specifically preserve the neighbourhood\u2019s history, regardless of future development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe policy is too vague and not context specific enough to capture neighborhoods like Garneau or any neighborhoods that have unique features,\u201d said Neufeld. \u201cAnd that’s what [our proposal] does. It doesn’t replace the Scona Plan. \u2026 It’s in complete alignment.\u201d<\/p>\n

LISTEN | How do Edmontonians feel about infill?:<\/p>\n

This is Edmonton19:04Sorting through Edmonton\u2019s infill feelings<\/p>\n

The housing infill conversation at Edmonton\u2019s city council is particularly heated of late. In recent years, the city has made big changes to what can be built where, and neighbourhoods are starting to see the impacts of those bylaws. Housing has remained relatively affordable, but the look of some neighbourhoods has shifted \u2014 and some longtime residents are left feeling overlooked. The CBC\u2019s Colton Hutchinson takes over this episode and breaks down our infill feelings with reporter Morgan Black.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not just about density. Yes, we can get that density, but what about heritage? What about sense of place?\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposal would diversify the housing mix of the neighbourhood by restricting the construction of housing already readily available in the area, such as apartment-style buildings and lodging houses, said Neufeld.<\/p>\n

\"ANeal Fernuik is a resident of Garneau. He says he hopes infill in his neighbourhood can better fit the character of the area. (Nicole Healey\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Neal Fernuik, a Garneau resident, said he supports the community league\u2019s proposal, noting that he hopes infill in the area can better fit the character of the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re seeing the infills coming in where there’s no architectural control,\u201d he said. \u201cI just felt that we needed to come out and support the plan that Garneau was putting together so that we control our own destiny as opposed to developers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Submitting a formal application to the city to consider the community league\u2019s proposal is costly at $100,000, said Neufeld. Regardless, she said she wants to pursue this path, hopefully by getting the fee waived by city administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen residents are engaged and feel empowered, you just build amazing communities within Edmonton,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,23752],"class_list":["post-600022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}