Glenmore Landing Land Use Redesignation and Disposition of Parkland - Templates and Sample Letters for Opposition Letter to City Hall
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Please take the time to write your own email, voicing your personal concerns about this project. Individual letters that outline citizens’ concerns are heavily weighted by council and administration, so getting folks to submit a letter outlining their personal concerns is very significant! We offer these templates and sample letters below to outline some facts and give you some ideas.
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Even though the deadlines have passed for written submission to real estate inquiries, please continue writing to the following emails regarding your concerns.
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Note: If you need help to copy and paste the emails below, we've included a how-to video down below.
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themayor@calgary.ca; kourtney.penner@calgary.ca; courtney.walcott@calgary.ca; dan.mclean@calgary.ca; sonya.sharp@calgary.ca; jennifer.wyness@calgary.ca; jasmine.mian@calgary.ca; sean.chu@calgary.ca; raj.dhaliwal@calgary.ca; richard.pootmans@calgary.ca; terry.wong@calgary.ca; andre.chabot@calgary.ca; evan.spencer@calgary.ca; peter.demong@calgary.ca; ward01@calgary.ca; ward02@calgary.ca; ward03@calgary.ca; ward04@calgary.ca; ward05@calgary.ca; ward06@calgary.ca; ward07@calgary.ca; ward08@calgary.ca; ward09@calgary.ca; ward10@calgary.ca; ward11@calgary.ca; ward12@calgary.ca; ward13@calgary.ca; ward14@calgary.ca; david.duckworth@calgary.ca; brendyn.Seymour@calgary.ca; parks@calgary.ca; calgary.glenmore@assembly.ab.ca; calgary.acadia@assembly.ab.ca; calgary.fishcreek@assembly.ab.ca; gian-carlo.carra@calgary.ca; melanie.horkan@calgary.ca
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Please also consider including the email to your community association as it's important to have our community associations know how their community members feel about this project. We also ask you to request for your community association to write a letter on behalf of their community to the city in regards to how their respective community has great concerns about this project.
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Here is a list of a few of the community associations' emails that we have readily available:
Oakridge: oakcomm@telus.net
Pumphill, Bayview, Palliser: pbpcam@pbpcommunity.ca
Haysboro: info@haysboro.org
Chinook Park, Kelvin Grove, Eagle Ridge: ckecommunity@gmail.com
Sample Letter 1
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I have seen a Public Notice that The City of Calgary (the “City”) has placed in the Calgary Herald relating to the proposed sale by the City of public park around Glenmore Landing. I object to the Public Notice, the procedures being followed by the City, the lack of transparency by the City, the misleading rhetoric about the nature of the lands, and the proposed sale of public park around Glenmore Landing for the following reasons:
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1. THE PUBLIC NOTICE IS IMPROPER AND VOID. The Public Notice does not provide a description of the proposed sale of public park as is required by law. The Public Notice does not refer to Glenmore Landing. The Public Notice does not have a map showing the lands. The proposed transaction is not described. The agreement of purchase and sale between the City and RioCan is not made available. The buyer is not disclosed. The price is not disclosed. The terms and conditions of the proposed sale are not disclosed. That the lands are proposed to be rezoned and included in a massive redevelopment of Glenmore Landing is not disclosed. That the park lands will be eliminated by the proposed redevelopment and replaced with concrete towers is not disclosed. That the park lands will not be replaced is not disclosed. The Public Notice does not discharge the City’s legal obligation to describe the proposed transaction. The City is not being transparent;
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2. THE RHETORIC DENYING THAT THE LANDS ARE PUBLIC PARK. The information being provided by the City as to the nature of the parklands is in my view inaccurate and incomplete. The lands have been described as “berms”, as “lands that are not ecologically significant”, as “grassy areas”, as “remnant parcels”, and as lands “set aside for roadways years ago”. For reasons that I do not understand, Ward 11 Councillor Kourtney Penner seems to be denying that the lands are public park and trying to minimize the issue by suggesting that “only some people” are concerned. These misdescriptions of the parklands and of the issue are incorrect and irresponsible and in my view constitute a breach of the City’s obligations to properly inform the citizenry. While the City has obviously concluded that the lands involved are parklands after being pressured by the community to do so (and hence the Public Notice), at the same time there is rhetoric denying that the lands are public park. This is unacceptable and in my view an abuse of the process. The unfortunate result is to sow confusion. The history of the lands on which Glenmore Landing was developed, including information from the City’s own files, is clear that these lands are parklands. They are zoned in a manner that contemplates park use. They are quite clearly parklands. Part of the rhetoric being heard from the City is that the lands are not zoned as Municipal Reserve so they can be sold. That argument is fallacious. The City’s own Land Use Bylaw contains a definition of “park” and it does not limit park to lands zoned as Municipal Reserve. The rhetoric must stop and the lands being valuable parklands must be respected. 28 acres of parklands, including the lands to which the Pubic Notice relates, were acquired in a settlement with Campeau Corporation in the 1980’s on the basis that the lands are park and would remain as such;
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3. AN AREA REDEVELOPMENT PLAN SHOULD BE PUT INTO PLACE FIRST. Given the magnitude of what RioCan is proposing to transform Glenmore Landing into a city of concrete towers, given the obvious traffic problems that will be created and the stresses on utility systems, the impact on other proposed developments in the area, potential adverse impacts on Glenmore Reservoir, and potential adverse environmental effects, the City should stop the process entirely and move ahead with a properly planned Area Redevelopment Plan, including seeking public input as to the Area Redevelopment Plan;
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4. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. Instead of honouring the hard fought vision that the City implemented for the parklands around Glenmore Landing, this proposal would see green space and trees eliminated and replaced with a massive amount of concrete that will emit a huge amount of CO2 and cause irreversible negative effects to the natural environment. In a city where City Council has declared that we are in a climate emergency, it is inconceivable that the City would even consider eliminating green space and trees that assist with climate change so as to replace such features with massive concrete towers. Parks are important for all Calgarians. The movement to create parks around Glenmore Reservoir started in the 1950’s. Parks surround the reservoir. The parklands adjacent to Glenmore Landing form part of this vision. The vision was and is correct. The parks in this city are used by all Calgarians. The elimination of parkland in a city where green space and trees have been noted to be a critical part of the city’s environment is simply unacceptable;
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5. THE 2015 NOTICE OF MOTION IS INVALID. In 2015 the City purported to approve a notice of motion in camera which purports to recharacterize as “surplus” the parklands acquired by the City from Campeau Corporation. The basis for this Notice of Motion is that development of the parklands (which cannot be developed) is limited by access. The absurd nature of this Notice of Motion is quite obvious. The secrecy involved is troubling. The Notice of Motion is in my view void as being entirely without any proper foundation and anything that purports to rely on it, including the misguided attempt to dispose of our valuable parklands, should also be viewed as void and of no legal effect. The Notice of Motion quite obviously was passed without proper consideration of the history of the lands, the settlement with Campeau Corporation, the original approvals for Glenmore Landing which clearly establish these lands as parklands, and the zoning of the lands; and
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6. PARKLAND IS CRITICAL. The City’s hard fought establishment of these lands as park for the benefit of all Calgarians needs to be respected and preserved. The adversarial rhetoric must stop. Priorities must be recognized and preserved. This is an issue for all Calgarians. Public park is not “surplus”. The parklands surrounding Glenmore Landing serve as valuable parklands. They provide an ecological buffer and needed green space to separate Glenmore Landing from 14th Street and 90th Avenue, which are both busy roads. More trees should be added to these parklands. The parklands enhance the aesthetics of the area. They connect to and provide access to adjacent parklands to the west and to the north of Glenmore Landing and the bike path system and Glenmore Reservoir. They provide green space and valuable trees which enhance the aesthetics of the area and also consume CO2. Disposal of these parklands is a complete non-starter. The parklands enhance our quality of life and will continue to do so for generations. This proposed disposition of public park cannot proceed.
Please do not proceed with the disposal of these valuable parklands.
Thank you,
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Name:
Address:
Date:
Template 1
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RE: LOC2023-0130 Land Use Redesignation and Public Notice regarding sale of Glenmore Landing Parklands, 8945 14th ST SW and 1630 90th Ave SW
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These lands are deemed parklands and should not be sold. I request that Calgary City Councillors:
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vote against the disposition of parklands to RioCan
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deny RioCan’s application for a Change in Land Use for the redevelopment of Glenmore Landing including residential towers and an ‘intensified’ commercial development
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I vehemently oppose and object to the sale of the subject lands by The City of Calgary.
Historically, these lands were required by the City as a condition of its approval for development of the Glenmore Landing Shopping Centre.
We understand that the City fought long and hard in the Courts, and at great expense to the taxpayers, to acquire and maintain these public park lands.
These lands were and are required by the City to maintain a buffer to the Glenmore Landing Shopping Centre. The Glenmore Landing shopping centre was carefully designed to maintain a park-like aesthetic and decrease strip mall impact from surrounding communities and intended to make GL nearly invisible from the Reservoir Parklands and pathway systems.
They are certainly NOT surplus lands to the City nor should they be available for sale. The existing height restrictions for the Glenmore Landing shopping centre must also be maintained to minimize impact on Glenmore Reservoir Parklands.
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Thank you,
Name:
Address:
Date:
Template 2
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RE: LOC2023-0130 Land Use Redesignation and Public Notice regarding sale of Glenmore Landing Parklands, 8945 14th ST SW and 1630 90th Ave SW
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These lands are deemed parklands and should not be sold. We request that Calgary City Councillors:
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vote against the disposition of parklands to RioCan
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deny RioCan’s application for a Change in Land Use for the redevelopment of Glenmore Landing including residential towers and an ‘intensified’ commercial development
Reasons to do so include:
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The process for this land disposition has been flawed from the onset. The original Notice of Motion made by Brian Pincott in 2015 refers to these Parklands as “surplus lands”, this is both legally incorrect and misguiding to the councillors at that time.
The 2015 Notice of Motion also presents also an ‘exclusive’ deal for RioCan. These parklands never went out for public tender despite the fact that there were competing offers at that time. One could argue that because these parcels of land demand usage of the entrance & exists currently used by the GL strip mall to be of any use for development. Once completed, however, any new high rise towers could certainly be sold to a third party, correct? Then I would suggest that RioCan is not the only potential developer for these lands, it is a matter of how a deal is structured. Giving an exclusive sale of public lands to a $13 billion REIT was completely unnecessary and further questions the validity of the NOM.
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Finally and importantly, there have been no hydrogeological or environmental impact studies completed for the proposed RioCan redevelopment. Since the 2015 NOM is dependent upon inclusion of non-market housing, these studies must be completed before any land disposition to confirm that ANY high rise towers are suitable for that location, not after. These lands and this redevelopment proposal are on the doorstep of sensitive Glenmore Reservoir parklands and our drinking water.
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Once parklands are rezoned or sold there is no getting them back.
Thank you,
Name:
Address:
Date:
Template 3
RE: LOC2023-0130 Land Use Redesignation and Public Notice regarding sale of Glenmore Landing Parklands, 8945 14th ST SW and 1630 90th Ave SW
These lands are deemed parklands and should not be sold. We request that Calgary City Councillors:
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vote against the disposition of parklands to RioCan
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deny RioCan’s application for a Change in Land Use for the redevelopment of Glenmore Landing including residential towers and an ‘intensified’ commercial development
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We are opposed to the sale of the subject lands by The City of Calgary.
There is no reason to sell off this parkland! If our goal is to provide affordable housing, there are better sites that do not impact Glenmore Reservoir parklands.
Why did the City need 8 years to inform the public about disposing of parkland, but only allow the public two weeks to respond? Without a public hearing how are we to know if anyone on council considered or even read the public’s input?
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Thank you,
Name:
Address:
Date:
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