Hey friends. This is a long one so please read if you CARE about:
HERITAGE, DOWNTOWN AIRDRIE, BUSINESS PARKING, ME :)

City Council Meeting tonight at 6pm, please arrive a little earlier if you can!

The MPC of Airdrie met on Thursday March 2 to discuss the future plans of the United Church of Airdrie's Lots, yes 2 lots. They voted to pass on to council, and this meeting is March 20 at 6:00pm and is open for residents to attend. I will start out by telling you - I do not approve of these plans and would love your support. Please read on to find out why. 

*** I am paraphrasing as much as possible. I might also have a couple of details off by a small margin***

Let me backtrack a little and describe the current situation the Church is in, along with their project. The United Church building was constructed in 1922. It very well may be the oldest building left in Airdrie. It has an addition that prevents it from applying for Heritage status. It is also in very rough shape foundation wise. I have heard mixed reviews on the cost to save this building and bring to Heritage Status. The Church is also financially weak. Let me be clear and say that I ABSOLUTELY sympathize with their situation. Ideally I would love for this Church to be a Heritage Site, as Airdrie has been quick to remove all other Heritage Buildings and left some of them as open lots for close to 20 years or more (example: Old Hotel). However, if there is no possible way for them to do this, I realize something must be done. 

Currently the site is being used as a Church and some businesses operate here as well. I happen to support one of these businesses myself (Airdrie Music Lessons). 40 members to the Church, currently 80 parking spots. On most days the Church parking is full. During service this lot and the lot across the street are full. During funerals, weddings, farmers market and school activities at the Tri-School Area, the streets are also full within a 2-4 block radius. 

The Church and its Land Trust propose that the current Church and CE building be torn down, in it's place a 4-storey apartment building with Parkade style Parking on the main level. It will have approx. 45 Rental units (either 1 or 2 bedroom). With just 45 parking stalls, no visitor parking. Meaning just 1 stall to one unit. I also believe they are to be rented out at an additional cost... 

Across the street there is a vacant lot, currently used as Church Parking. This will be the NEW Church site and Community Centre with Music Lessons above, Pregnancy Outreach on main floor and the ability to use the Church for community events and gatherings. This will have just 11 stalls, 2 of which are reserved for church staff. 

Already, Downtown Airdrie has a parking issue, this will absolutely further bottleneck the situation. 

Below are MINE and many other's concerns with the proposed changes made by the United Church Alberta Land Trust and the United Church. 

- increased population density with no PARKING infrastructure to sustain it. 
- increased population density with no TRAFFIC infrastructure to sustain it. Currently with one lane in each direction we already have reduced to almost no ability to exit our street during Rush Hour, School Pickups, Farmer's Market. 
- in my biased opinion I do not want a 4-storey building in my backyard of course. But many other residents that don't back onto the church also do not want a 4-storey building. 
- Back lane traffic as an entrance to their parkade, reduced privacy, reduced safety (from parkade) to my young children. 
- I believe this will deter people like myself from wanting to live and invest in this area, I also believe it will deter others from wanting to bring young kids to the community. I would rather see more gentrification to this area. 

Below are some findings I pulled from the "Village Area Redevelopment Plan". The apartment goes against low-density residential and 'traffic calming'.

Section 3.1 states under Policies:
Through the adoption of this Plan, the City will reaffirm that The Village shall remain predominantly a low-density residential district."

Section 3.6 states: Consider where appropriate “traffic calming” measures or devices.

According to the "Village Area Redevelopment Plan" under Environment SWOT some WEAKNESSES that will be further impacted:

"- speed limits of first and Centre Avenues in mornings and afternoons

- traffic flow

- parks maintenance and garbage

- general cleanliness"

Under Environment SWOT some THREATS that will be further impacted:

"- old housing replaced with ugly infill / polluting industry

- garbage problems will increase

- widening streets

- more and newer development

- if nothing is done, Airdrie will become a slum"
(***not my words...)

During the meeting on Thursday, the vote was 3 to 2, barely passing. All 5 members commented on how Parking will be a major issue. Parking studies were also conducted during quiet times. Why didn't they table the proposal???? 

Are we expecting Parking to magically improve?

If we are basing the decision off of major City Plans to have high density, low parking, we need the infrastructure to achieve this. Where is the increased Public Transit to Calgary for commuters? Where are the non-stop bussing systems for citizens to get around the city? They want Downtown to be walkable, but the walk to the grocery store is still 15 minutes from here. Why not put a building like this much closer? Are we walking this far in -45?

During the meeting, not one person brought up concerns over Traffic...
- What about the safety of the laneway directly behind me, as the only access to the parkade?
- I have a hard time pulling out of my driveway during school pick up and drop off without fear of hitting kids walking to school. 
- I can barely exit my street during busy times
45+ more vehicles will not help this situation. 

Additional Concerns/Comments I have and have heard from others:
- Can we please increase the massing (tall buildings) on Main Street first? 
- In my 20s me and my husband had 3 vehicles and still do. I just don't see how they think the renters will only have 1 or none. 
- They said the accessory buildings (garages) between the homes and the apartment will provide privacy. That would probably be true on the 1-3 storeys. However, there is actually only 1 house that has an accessory building between the apartment and the residence. 
- Traffic Safety
- Some believe the building and plan is ugly and does not line up with The Village Aesthetic.

Of course there is no point in complaining if I can't offer up alternatives:
- try to save the Church (what is our Heritage and History worth to us?)
- make the apartment much smaller so Parking and Traffic will not be as big of an issue. 
- sell the south lot - use the funds to help build new CE building and/or improve the current one. The CE building in itself could use accessibility improvements to be viable as a church site. Ideally lets keep what is currently there. 
- sell both lots and build the apartment outside of The Village. Lots of empty lots downtown that could serve this need. Then the lots in question can be used for duplex bungalows (massive need for these in Airdrie). Or small strip mall for businesses to bring more culture to the downtown with more restaurants, coffee shops, retail etc.

Link to MPC meeting and the Proposal!