A second open letter from Cambrian Heights Community Association to City Parks, City of Calgary regarding the proposed expansion of Queen’s Park Cemetery into Cambrian Heights Community Reserve Park.

Download (PDF, 1.19MB)

We encourage all residents who support this position to let your feelings be known to the City officials at the addresses shown below. Public and continual pressure remains our best strategy to prevent these Park Reserve lands from being lost forever. If you are a twitter user we encourage you to also contact Mayor Nenshi.

Calgary Parks, Director
Anne Charlton
Phone: 403 268 5204
Email: anne.charlton@calgary.ca

Community Services, General Manager
Kurt Hanson
Phone: 403 268 5250
Email: kurt.hanson@calgary.ca

City of Calgary, City Manager
Jeff Fielding
Phone: 403 268 8163
Email: jeff.fielding@calgary.ca

City of Calgary, Chief of Staff to Mayor Nenshi
Devery Corbin
Phone: 403 268 5622
Email: devery.corbin@calgary.ca

City of Calgary, Mayor Naheed Nenshi
Twitter: @nenshi

An open letter from Cambrian Heights Community Association to City Parks, City of Calgary regarding the proposed expansion of Queen’s Park Cemetery into Cambrian Heights Community Reserve Park.

Download (PDF, 1.26MB)

We encourage all residents who support this position to let your feelings be known to the City officials at the addresses shown below. Public and continual pressure remains our best strategy to prevent these Park Reserve lands from being lost forever. If you are a twitter user we encourage you to also contact Mayor Nenshi.

Calgary Parks, Director
Anne Charlton
Phone: 403 268 5204
Email: anne.charlton@calgary.ca

Community Services, General Manager
Kurt Hanson
Phone: 403 268 5250
Email: kurt.hanson@calgary.ca

City of Calgary, City Manager
Jeff Fielding
Phone: 403 268 8163
Email: jeff.fielding@calgary.ca

City of Calgary, Chief of Staff to Mayor Nenshi
Devery Corbin
Phone: 403 268 5622
Email: devery.corbin@calgary.ca

City of Calgary, Mayor Naheed Nenshi
Twitter: @nenshi

The City of Calgary is offering free compost for residents to use in their yards and gardens this spring. The compost is made from the food and yard waste collected in the Green Cart Program.

When: Saturday May 5, 12, 19 and 26
Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Calgary Compost Facility – 12111 68 Street SE
Cost: FREE for Calgary residents.

Residents will need to bring their own shovels, gloves, containers and tarps to cover their loads. Residents can take up to 100 litres per vehicle. No trailers or mechanical equipment are permitted.

For full program details, see calgary.ca/compost

We have received the following letter from the City of Calgary:

“Dear Resident,

This letter is to inform you of some proposed changes in your area.

The Queen’s Park Cemetery has been serving Calgarians for nearly 80 years, and it is close to capacity. Queen’s Park is currently the only active City-operated cemetery offering burial options for Calgarians in the northern quadrants.

Calgary Parks has been working to secure new cemetery space for some time. This has included pursuing opportunities to locate a new cemetery in the new Southeast Cemetery, which will open in the next few years.

To continue offering adequate burial space for Calgarians, Calgary Parks is proposing to expand the Queen’s Park Cemetery into the south-west corner of the site, currently used as an off-leash area. This involves several steps, including going through a formal land use re-designation process.

We would like to work with the community to find alternative or improved off-leash space nearby. We have identified several options, see map below.

Upcoming engagement opportunities

The City would like to continue discussions with the community and residents near to proposed off leash sites. Specifically, we’re looking to:

• Discuss proposed alternative sites for off-leash areas in the community.
• Share more information about the land use application process for the proposed cemetery expansion

You are invited to attend one of two drop-in engagement sessions:

Thursday, April 26, 6-8 pm
Highwood Community Hall
16 Harlow Avenue NW

Wednesday, May 9, 6-8 pm
Highwood Community Hall
16 Harlow Avenue NW

You can also learn more and provide feedback online through The City’s Engage site from April 23 – May 16 at engage.calgary.ca/queenspark

You will be able to provide further comments through the land use application process between April 26 – May 23 through the PD Maps site, calgary.ca/QueensPark.

For more details about the project, visit calgary.ca/offleashprojects, or contact 311.”

UPDATE: April 15, 2018

Download (PDF, 259KB)

UPDATE: April 10, 2018

The City has heard the community’s concerns about the potential loss of the current off-leash area and green space because of the proposed Queen’s Park Cemetery expansion. As a result, Calgary Parks has placed the land use re-designation application on hold until further notice. Comments will remain open until April 13 and will be preserved. Additionally, the comment process will be re-opened if the re-designation application starts again.

Calgary Parks will continue discussions with the community, providing more information and asking for feedback on our possible off-leash relocation options should the expansion proceed at a later date. The May 9 session, originally planned as an information session, will be repurposed for this engagement.

There are two ways to learn more and provide input into the options:

1. Participate in online engagement between April 23 and May 16. A link will be available at Calgary.ca/offleashprojects.
2. Attend one of two drop-in engagement sessions
   • Thursday, April 26, 6-8 p.m.
     Highwood Community Hall
     16 Harlow Avenue NW
   • Wednesday, May 9, 6-8 p.m.
     Highwood Community Hall
     16 Harlow Avenue NW

We will share information about the engagement opportunities with your residents through our website (Calgary.ca/offleashprojects), your community newsletter, and signage. We will also continue to update you directly as new information is available.

UPDATE: April 6, 2018

An update on the Queen’s Park Cemetery expansion project, April 6

UPDATE: March 30, 2018

The City Parks Department, in their program to convert the existing Cambrian Heights Park Land Reserve now being utilized as an Off Leash Dog Park, have applied for a Redesignation to an S-C1 zoning which will allow use as a cemetery. The application may be found at :

http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/Off-leash-areas-proposed-new-and-improved-locations.aspx

All comments about this application must be submitted to the City office by April 13. Please let your opinions be heard.

The Board of Cambrian Heights was made aware of this decision by the City of Calgary Parks Department to close the existing Off Leash Dog Park bordering 10 Street and 32 Avenue on March 12. They stated that this park is part of the Queen’s Park Cemetery Lands and is urgently needed to meet demand.  At the meeting the Board expressed their surprise at both the decision and the timing. We further suggested to the City representatives that this decision would elicit strong emotional response from the Community dog owners and their proposed timing was aggressive. The Board undertook to review past discussions between the Community and the City in regards to the use of those lands. We will be conducting a complete review of the events that occurred in 2005 and 2006 when the City proposed this closure and through efforts of Community volunteers City Council reversed this decision.

An informational meeting announced by the City at the Highwood Community Hall is scheduled for Wednesday evening May 9. As explained to the Board this meeting will be informal and the City officials will be simply telling everyone of this dog park removal decision and lay the groundwork for their study of other potential sites for an Off Leash Dog Park in the area for which they will be soliciting input at some point.

Members of the Board encourage your attendance at the City sponsored meeting and making your opinions known. We also encourage discussion with your neighbours and further welcome emails addressing this closure, volunteering to help or providing information concerning the 2005-6 events. These emails will be kept on record but not distributed outside the Community without your permission. You are also free to forward your comments directly to our Alderman Sean Chu at ward04@calgary.ca.

The Board will be formulating a strategy memorandum after reviewing all the available relevant information concerning these lands, past and present, for publication on our website. We will try to meet with City officials once again and will be contacting our Alderman. A Town Hall Meeting may be called or we may defer discussion until our AGM May 15 to address this issue with up to date information for Community residents. We further note that a Land Use Re-Designation Application has been posted on the dog park site and we need to obtain details of this application before any of these proposed meetings.

Daryl Connolly, President CHCA
daryl.connolly@icloud.com

It is important for our residents and those of the surrounding communities to be aware of the facts regarding the City’s rezoning application (File: LOC2018-0062) of 37 Cardiff DR NW to convert Cambrian’s Community Reserve green space lands to cemetery lands.  This application refers specifically to our park space on the NE corner of 10^th St and 32^nd Ave NW, currently designated as an Off-Leash Dog Park.  This is a precedent-setting step by the City to remove Community Reserve (S-SPR) lands from a Calgary community and we are strongly opposed to this rezoning and proposed loss.

Here are the facts:

• This land was originally designated to our community when Cambrian Heights was created in 1956. It is the 2nd largest park area in the Community.
• In October 2005 the City notified us that they would be developing this land as an extension of the Queen’s Park Cemetery (QPC). They claimed erroneously that this land had always been part of the QPC inventory.
• By January 2006 – through historic land titles maps, letters and documents obtained through City records – the CHCA was able to conclusively prove that this was Community Reserve land as defined by the Provincial Municipal Government Act (PMGA) and not part of QPC’s land inventory.
• In July 2006 Calgary City Council accepted that this was Community Reserve land. They understood that under PMGA, the City of Calgary would have to pay the value of the land to a special fund (then estimated at between $6.5–$9 million).  Council decided not to proceed with the acquisition of this “expensive” Community Reserve property.
• Parks and Recreation, Cemetery Division was directed by the same City Council resolution to acquire cheaper lands for a new cemetery to meet the City’s need. That was 12 years ago! The Ralph Klein Cemetery is being developed but we have been told it will not be ready for anywhere between 1 and 3 years from now.  That is the excuse the City is using to expropriate these Park lands from us.
• A senior Parks and Recreation official was quoted by QR77 radio on April 3, 2018 at 1:30 PM as saying that there are other options available to Parks and Recreation. What are those “options”? She also indicated there would be continuing demand for cemetery space in the North.  Where?
• Other Community Reserve lands border QPC including the green spaces on Cardiff DR, 39^th Ave and 10^th St NW and the tennis courts, open area and baseball diamond immediately north of 30^th Ave NW. Loss of these Park Reserve lands in question would set a precedent.
• Lastly, the CHCA board feels strongly that City Parks has restricted the area of notification and minimized public consultation for this re-designation given its implication to the entire Cambrian Heights Community and bounding communities such as Rosemont, Highwood and Mount Pleasant.

HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD:

Please help us to express your support to retain our Community Reserve land by reaching out specifically to the following contacts with the benefits you perceive as significant to your health and sociological enjoyment of this park space:

• Planning & Development website (calgary.ca/development) – search for “LOC2018-0062”; click on “37 Cardiff DR NW”;, then “Find Out More” and then “Share Your Thoughts”
• Giyan Brenkman (File Manager Planning & Development): email brenkman@calgary.ca; Phone 403-268-2678, and
• Alderman Sean Chu (Ward 4): chu@calgary.ca; @seanchucalgary; Phone 403-268-3727

It is only through political pressure that we can impact this re-designation and Reserve Park land annexation.  If this land becomes part of QPC for a two year stop gap measure, it is gone forever as community park space. We believe this land should be keep for future generations of the living due to its social and recreational benefits for our inner City residents.

According to the City website (www.calgary.ca) as of April 6 the Redesignation Application has been temporarily suspended and public consultations are being suggested. However there remains the very tight deadline for a formal response to City Planning & Development of April 13, 2018. Please make your opinions heard. For updates please visit our website.

On Behalf of the Cambrian Heights Community Association,
Daryl Connolly, President
president@cambrianheightscommunity.com

For a detailed reference map of the land in question please go the following:
http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/pd/Documents/lud_section_maps/1p2007/33C.pdf

The Queen’s Park Cemetery has been serving Calgarians for nearly 80 years, and it is nearing capacity. Queen’s Park is currently the only active City-operated cemetery and the only northwest burial option for Calgarians.

To continue to meet the needs of the community, The City of Calgary will be expanding the cemetery into the south-west corner of the site (bordered by 10 St. NW and 32 Ave. NW), currently used as an off-leash area. As part of this work, it will extend the fencing that surrounds the cemetery site and is preparing a planting plan that will screen the site from view.

Work is scheduled to begin in June/July 2018. There will be a short period of construction traffic, and increased noise as the fencing and trees are installed and some groundwork is completed. As a cemetery, the site will be permanently protected from further development.

Information session

The City is hosting an information session about the cemetery expansion on May 9, from 6-8 p.m. at the Highwood Community Hall (16 Harlow Avenue NW). All are welcome to drop in and learn more.

Relocation of the off-leash area

The City would like to try to provide a new or improved alternative off-leash area nearby. It is working on identifying other suitable spaces in the area and will be holding community engagement in June to seek input on which alternative could work best. More details will follow as they are confirmed.

For more information, visit Calgary.ca/offleashprojects or contact 311.