While February generally brings Calgary a continued blast of winter your Community Board is busy planning events and programs for the remainder of 2019 as well as planning summer renovations at our hall. At the writing of this report, we are looking forward to the Polar party being associated this year with Cambrian Elementry School.

Upcoming Events

Polar Party – January 26, 1:00AM – 2:00PM – Hall & Outdoor Ice

Volunteer Pub – February 9, 7:00PM – 9:00PM – Hall

Cooking Class – March 9, 5:00PM – 9:00PM – Hall

Wine Event – April 6, 7:30PM – 9:30PM – Hall

AGM – June 11, 7:30PM  – 9:00PM – Hall

Asado BBQ – September 14, 3:00PM – 9:00PM – Hall & Grounds

Community Cleanup – (date to be determined by City)

The annual Polar Party was once again a great outdoor event for the family with free ice skates provided and hot chocolate and music to entertain. For the second year, the Cambrian School Parents participated with a ChiIli contest in addition to crafts plus baked goods and pizza fundraiser inside the Hall.

These pictures were taken over the holidays as families enjoyed the outdoor ice rinks. Great thanks go to our Rink Rates headed up by Scott Jacobson and Ryan Bowen for the tireless effort and the cold winter evenings working to keep our two rinks at peak condition.

In terms of New Year’s resolutions, please drop in at our weekly Yoga program or one of the three weekly exercise programs offered at the Hall in the early evening. Details of these programs may be found on our website.

Also on February 9th, we have scheduled a Volunteer Appreciation evening for all those that have volunteered from the Community at special events, Casino’s or during the “Dog Park” issue this past spring. Please come out and share complimentary beverages and food in a Pub style atmosphere with the Board members to discuss past successes, issues of concern and future event ideas. Feel free to bring a guest who may benefit from the evening.

Our Hall now has full commercial kitchen status having passed both health and safety inspections. As such we are scheduling our first ever cooking class March 9in the evening. Only 20 tickets will be sold, so stay tuned for details and ticket purchase on our website.

We are planning another Wine Event on April 6, the details of which will be published next month. These are always popular and tickets will be available on our website. Our Annual General Meeting will be held June 11 and is an excellent opportunity to catch up on happenings that impact your community. Due to planned renovations at the Hall, we will once again not be holding a Stampede Breakfast. However, we will be repeating our highly successful Asado BBQ on September 14. Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community.

In February we anticipate adding two new Board members who have come forth based on our recent requests for volunteers to fulfil certain roles. We remain in need of a Casino and Social Director and of course welcome those wanting to contribute through joining the Board but holding no specific role. New volunteers with energy and ideas are always welcome. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

Our main fundraiser which supports the activities of the Community and maintenance of the Hall and grounds is our Casino, which this year will be at Calgary Casino on May 29 and 30. We are looking for volunteers for daytime and evening shifts. Please contact Sonya (hnatiw13@shaw.ca) or Dan Vallee (danvallee@gmail.com) for more information.

The next meetings of the Board will take place March 4 and April 1. All residents are welcome to attend. These meetings normally take place at the Georgina Thomson City building on 14th Street and Northmount Drive at 6:30 PM.

Remember Participation Builds Your Community.
Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

We welcome all residents into 2019 and trust everyone enjoyed the Christmas and Holiday Season. While there were no Hall events in December, our two events in November were both very successful. Thanks to the Parents of Cambrian School a Home Based Trade Show was held November 3. Over 200 attended the event and it is planned to repeat the trade show in the Fall of 2019. Watch our website (www.cambrianheightscommunity.com) for the date announcement. Also, on November 17 our second annual Lego Contest was held. There were 36 entries and over 75 residents viewed the entries over the day. Awards were given out to all levels but most entries were in the 7-8 age group. In addition, there were two professional displays and handouts provided by the Lego Store. Some pictures from the event can be found here. This event will also be repeated in the Fall of 2019.

We have scheduled our annual Polar Party for Saturday, January 26. Once again, this event promises to be a great outdoor event for children, with free ice skates provided and hot chocolate, games and music to entertain. The Cambrian School Parents are also planning a chilli and baked goods fundraiser inside the Hall. If you want to get involved and contribute a much appreciated helping hand, please contact Jodi at social@cambrianheightscommunity.com

Also on February 9, we have scheduled a Volunteer Appreciation evening for all those that have volunteered from the Community at special events, Casino’s or during the “Dog Park” issue this spring. Please come out and share complimentary beverages and food in a Pub style atmosphere with the Board members to discuss past successes, issues of concern and future event ideas. Feel free to bring a guest who may benefit from the evening.

Our Hall now has full commercial kitchen status having passed both health and safety inspections. As such we are hoping to schedule our first cooking class in March. Stay tuned for details. If you have any ideas towards community kitchen use or questions please contact our Hall Manager Lora Riep at CHCA_HALL@telus.net.

We are also planning another Wine Event in April details of which will be published next month. Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community.

We continue to need participation at the Board level. We are looking for a Vice President, Secretary, Social Events and general participation directors. We have job descriptions and experienced past directors available to guide and ease the transition into these community positions. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com

Our main fundraiser which supports the activities of the community and maintenance of the Hall and grounds is our Casino, which this year will be at Calgary Casino on May 29 and 30. We are looking for volunteers for daytime and evening shifts. Please contact Sonya at hnatiw13@shaw.ca for more information.

The next meetings of the Board will take place on February 4 and March 4. All residents are welcome to attend. These meetings normally take place at the Georgina Thomson City building on 14th Street and Northmount Drive at 6:30 PM.

Remember Participation Builds Your Community.

Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

The highlight of October was our annual Halloween party on October 27 at the Community Hall. This year over 180 children and their parents attended the event and participated in the games and entertainment. Advanced ticket sales greatly aided the organizers but did cause some confusion for those arriving without tickets on the evening of the event. Capacity limitations necessitated some waiting as the younger children left and others were allowed into the hall. Changes in how the event was structured will be considered for next year to accommodate all ages more effectively. I would like to especially thank Jennifer Manns and Jessica Demers for their efforts in organizing the event. If anyone would like to volunteer for this event next year please contact any of the community directors. A few pictures are shown of the event but please visit our website for a full pictorial review.

At the writing of this newsletter, we have scheduled a Christmas Trade Show hosted by the Cambrian Heights Elementary School Parents on November 3 and our second Lego Contest event at the Hall on Saturday, November 17. The Lego Event promises to be bigger and better than last year and hopefully, anyone interested in entering or just viewing the entries will have done so.

We also encourage all residents to take advantage of the various early evening programs at the Community Hall. We have Yoga every Wednesday evening from 7-8, Jazzercise Monday & Wednesday 5:45-6:45 PM, Fun & Fitness Tuesday evenings (check the website for times) and Piloxing Thursday 6:30-7:30 PM.

We have scheduled our annual Polar Party for Saturday, January 26. Once again, this event promises to be a great outdoor event for children, with free ice skates provided and hot chocolate, treats, games and music to entertain. If you want to get involved and contribute a much appreciated helping hand, please contact Jodi at social@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community.

From the Planning and Development perspective, there continues to be new applications for development permits within the Community. We expect this to continue and reference you to the website for information on procedures as well as contacts within the CHCA Planning Committee. We encourage everyone to get involved as this re-development of our Community takes place.

We are in need of the following part-time volunteer positions:

• Secretary for Board & Annual General Meetings
• Social Activity Organizers
• Casino Fund Raising Organizers

Job descriptions and experienced past directors are available to guide and ease the transition into these community positions. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

With great reluctance, we accepted the resignation of Susan McGregor as a director and organizer of the Community Garden in October. Her efforts over the last five years have been greatly appreciated. She left with a great legacy and also recruited a new volunteer, Christine Breed, to replace her in regards to the Community garden and Chris was voted onto the Board of Directors at the recent November Board meeting. We welcome Chris and look forward to her input and involvement with the community.

The next meetings of the Board will take place January 7 and February 4. All residents are welcome to attend and share any concerns, questions or ideas for our community. These meetings take place at the Georgina Thomson City building on 14th Street and Northmount Drive at 6:30 PM.

Remember Participation Builds Your Community.

Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

Our first ever Asado BBQ and Open Mike Event on September 22 was a tremendous success. Asado is a Latin American term for a social gathering involving open fire and freshly grilled food. Despite cold weather that eliminated the outdoor children’s activities over 150 residents and neighbours attended the event held inside the Community Hall. Councillor Chu attended the event on behalf of the City. A pig and lamb were roasted outside as well as corn on the cob supplemented by various Latin American vegetables, sauces and spices. A special thanks must be handed out to sponsors Salsita Mexican Food Market, Barbeques Galore and Glenn Pickard for his welding, cooking and music skills. Live music was provided by local community residents and continued playing well into the evening. Also, we must recognize Jodie Dixon and Pablo Policzer who organized the event and recruited a large volunteer base for the evening. We thank all who participated and hope to make this an annual event. I have included some pictures from the event.

On September 29th the Community Hall hosted a Scrapbooking Workshop which was very well attended and much appreciated by all attendees. Put on by Valerie Kapsha it raised $2,000 for Calgary Reads. For information on any repeat of this event please contact vkapsha@telus.net.

By the time this letter is published in the November Community Newsletter, we will have hosted our annual Halloween Party and Dance on October 27th at the Community Hall. As usual, there was a DJ providing music for the children as well as pizza, treats, best costume prizes and other fun activities. This has always been a popular family event and I hope you took the opportunity to participate.

We also encourage all residents to take advantage of the early evening programs at the Community Hall. We have Yoga every Wednesday evening from 7-8, Jazzercise Monday & Wednesday 5:45-6:45 PM, Fun & Fitness Tuesday evenings (check website for times) and Piloxing Thursday 6:30-7:30 PM.

A list of currently scheduled fall events at the Community Hall are as follows:

Christmas Trade Show – Nov. 3

Lego Contest – Nov. 17

Sugar Craft Guild – Nov. 24

The Christmas Tradeshow is being put on by the Cambrian School Parents as a fundraiser for the school. For more information please contact kristasteinke@live.com. The Lego contest will involve the theme of Science and Technology. This is the second time around for this Event which was well received last year. For more information see our website at www.cambrianheightscommunity.com or contact Nancy Else at nancy.else@gmail.com.

We are also hosting a Sugar Craft Guild Event on November 27. The Guild promotes the art of sugar crafting and cake decorating. For more information please contact Krista at calgarysugarcraftguild@live.com.

Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community.

From the Planning and Development perspective, there has been an increasing amount of new developments within the Community over this year, especially in the southern portion. We expect this to continue and reference you to the website for information on procedures as well as contacts within the Planning Committee for your Community. We encourage everyone to get involved as this re-development of our Community takes place. 

We continue to be urgently in need of the following part-time volunteer positions:

• Secretary for Board & Annual General Meetings
• Social Activity Organizers
• Planning & Development Committee Members
• Casino Fund Raising Organizer 

Job descriptions and experienced past directors are available to guide and ease the transition into community service. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

The next meetings of the Board will take place on December 3 and January 7. All residents are welcome to attend and share any concerns, questions or ideas you may have for our community. These meetings take place at the Georgina Thomson City building on 14th Street and Northmount Drive at 6:30 PM.

Remember Participation Builds Your Community.
Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

On September 14 the City Planning Department informed community residents that Calgary Parks had withdrawn their Re-Designation Application DL2018-0062 converting the Community’s existing Reserve (S-SPR) Park land bounded by 10th Street and 32nd Avenue into S-CRI (Special Purpose – City and Regional Infrastructure) classification thereby allowing an expansion of the Queen’s Park Cemetery (“QPC”) onto these lands. These lands are currently being used as a Dog Park and have been part of the Community since its inception in 1956. We wish to thank all those residents who filled objections and/or attended the two Open Houses sponsored by the City to express their opposition. We also wish to thank Councillor Chu for his help and Calgary Parks for responding to this overwhelming opposition by withdrawing their Application.

The Fall Cleanup organized by Gary Wilson and his band of volunteers shown below was once again a success. It took place in the Community Hall parking lot on Sunday, September 9th. Thanks to all the volunteers and those residents who disposed of excess metal, appliances, electronics and general yard and garage/household waste. We also thank everyone for their household and clothing donations to the Diabetes Association.

At the writing of this message, we are also looking forward to our Asado and Open Mike Event on September 22. Asado is a Latin American term for a social gathering involving open fire and freshly grilled food. I trust the weather will cooperate and our residents will support this family affair.

In October we will be hosting our annual Halloween Dance on October 27th at the Community Hall. Details may be found on our website. There will be pizza, a DJ, best costume and other fun activities. This is always a popular family event and I urge you to come early to participate.

We also encourage all residents to take advantage of the early evening programs at the Community Hall. We have yoga every Wednesday evening from 7-8, Jazzercise Monday & Wednesday 5:45-6:45, Fun & Fitness Tuesday (check the website for times) and Piloxing Thursday 6:30-7:30.

Construction has been completed on our Hall kitchen and outside access ladder. We will now be applying to have our commercial kitchen status approved. This will open the Hall for cooking events that were not previously allowed. We encourage any ideas to develop this new option for increased Hall usage within the Community.

A list of currently scheduled fall events at the Community Hall are as follows:

• Halloween Party: Oct. 27
• Christmas Trade Show: Nov. 3
• Sugar Craft Guild: Nov. 24
• Lego Contest: Nov. (TBD)

Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community. Please contact cambrianheights@gmail.com for more information on volunteering.

From the Planning and Development perspective, there has been an increasing amount of new developments within the Community over this year, especially in the southern portion. We expect this to continue and reference you to the website for information on procedures as well as contacts within the Planning Committee for your Community. We encourage everyone to get involved as this re-development of our Community takes place.

The Board has also been involved with complaints of speeding up the 10th Street hill towards Queen’s Park Cemetery. We have involved our Police Liaison as well as Alderman Chu in this review. Recent discussions at City Council towards lowering the residential speed limits off main transit routes to 30 km/h may impact this situation.

We continue to be urgently in need of the following part-time volunteer positions:

• Secretary for Board & Annual General Meetings
• Social Activity Organizers
• Planning & Development Committee Members
• Casino Fund Raising Organizer

Job descriptions and experienced past directors are available to guide and ease the transition into community service. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

The next meetings of the Board will take place October 1 and November 5. All residents are welcome to attend and share any concerns, questions or ideas you may have for our community. These meetings take place at the Georgina Thomson City building on 14th Street and Northmount Drive at 6:30 PM.

Remember Participation Builds Your Community.
Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

Once again I have no new update on the Calgary Parks filing of the Re-designation Application DL2018- 0062 converting the Community’s existing Reserve (S-SPR) Park land bounded by 10th Street and 32nd Avenue into S-CRI (Special Purpose – City and Regional Infrastructure) classification and then the proposed expansion of the Queen’s Park Cemetery (“QPC”) onto these lands. These Reserve Lands are currently being utilized as an Off-Leash Dog Park. The Application remains on hold. Background on this Application and Community response may be found on our website.

September marks the beginning of the Fall/Winter community events.  First will be the Fall Cleanup allowing disposal of excess materials from summer renovations and garage purges. Following that will be a new event. A fall Family BBQ with a South American cooking theme will highlight a day for residents to gather, party and share summer experiences. A detailed description of planned activities is presented within the newsletter.

This Fall our commercial kitchen status should be approved. All facilities are in place and this will open the Hall for cooking events that were not previously allowed. We encourage any ideas to develop this option for increased Hall usage within the Community.

A list of currently scheduled fall events at the Community Hall are as follows:

Community Cleanup                Sept. 9

Fall Family BBQ                      Sept. 22

Halloween Party                     Oct. 27

Lego Contest                          Nov. tbd

Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community. Please contact cambrianheights@gmail.com for more information on volunteering.

We continue to be urgently in need of the following part-time volunteer positions:

• Secretary for Board & Annual General Meetings
• Social Activity Organizers
• Planning & Development Committee Members
• Casino Fundraising Organizer

Job descriptions and experienced past directors are available to guide and ease the transition into community service. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

The next meetings of the Board will take place September 10th and October 1st. All residents are welcome to attend and share any concerns, questions or ideas you may have for our community. These meetings take place at the Georgina Thomson City building on 14th Street and Northmount Drive at 6:30 PM.

Remember Participation Builds Your Community.
Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

Firstly I have no new update, other than this July summary, on the Calgary Parks filing of the Re-designation Application DL2018- 0062 converting the Community’s existing Reserve (S-SPR) Park land bounded by 10th Street and 32nd Avenue into S-CRI (Special Purpose – City and Regional Infrastructure) classification and then the proposed expansion of the Queen’s Park Cemetery (“QPC”) onto these lands. These Reserve Lands are currently being utilized as an Off-Leash Dog Park. The original application was filed March 19. After overwhelming opposition to this application from individuals and the Community Association as well as Alderman Sean Chu, City Parks agreed to “slow down” the process.

Two “drop-in engagement” sessions took place at Highwood Community Hall April 25 and May 9. The comment period for residents was held open till May 25. Calgary Parks, after our recent inquiry, has stated

“When we say the application is on hold no further work will proceed on the land use redesignation until after the report to Council and Council direction in the fall….The report developed by Parks will outline background previous reports, options and alternatives considered, and the remaining capacity of Queen’s Park cemetery and the status of new cemetery development and land acquisition.”

The full text may be found here.

We anticipate that this “report” is in answer to our numerous submissions on the operation of QPC and reflects a continuing desire on the part of Calgary Parks to ultimately proceed with their application. We will await the publishing of this report and respond accordingly.

We are now halfway through summer with our next community events scheduled for September.  First will be the Fall Cleanup allowing disposal of excess materials from summer renovations and garage purges. Following that will be a new event. A fall Family BBQ with a South American cooking theme will highlight a day for residents to gather, party and share summer experiences. A detailed description of planned activities is presented within the newsletter.

A list of currently scheduled fall events at the Community Hall are as follows:

Community Cleanup                Sept. 9

Fall Family BBQ                      Sept. 22

Halloween Party                     Oct. 27

Lego Contest                          Nov. tbd

Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community. Please contact cambrianheights@gmail.com for more information on volunteering.

We continue to be urgently in need of the following part-time volunteer positions:

• Secretary for Board & Annual General Meetings
• Social Activity Organizers
• Planning & Development Committee Members
• Casino Fundraising Organizer 

Job descriptions and experienced past directors are available to guide and ease the transition into community service. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

The next meeting of the Board will take place September 10th. All residents are welcome to attend and share any concerns, questions or ideas you may have for our community. These meetings take place at the Georgina Thomson City building on 14th Street and Northmount Drive at 6:30 PM.

Remember Participation Builds Your Community.
Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

The continuing focus of the Community remains the filing of the Re-designation Application DL2018- 0062 converting the Community’s existing Reserve (S-SPR) Park land bounded by 10th Street and 32nd Avenue into S-CRI (Special Purpose – City and Regional Infrastructure) classification and then the proposed expansion of the Queen’s Park Cemetery (“QPC”) onto these lands. These Reserve Lands are currently being utilized as an Off Leash Dog Park. The original application was filed March 19 with responses required by April 13 to City Planning and Development. With an overwhelming opposition to this application from individuals and the Community Association expressed in emails to Planning and Development, City Parks as well as Alderman Sean Chu, City Parks agreed to “slow down” the process.

Two “drop-in engagement” sessions took place at Highwood Community Hall April 25 and May 9. The comment period for residents was held open till May 25. Calgary Parks continued however to disguise this Application as a dog park issue and presented the expansion of the QPC onto the second largest Park Reserve lands within Cambrian Heights as their sole right. They sought in their engagement sessions to address only two issues; alternative off leash dog areas and annotating the application process. No attempt was made to justify the need for QPC expansion and the annexation of this Park forever. The Community Association provided members outside the Hall for both these meetings to answer questions and explain the issues to residents attending the sessions. A photo from the first meeting is shown where the only true engagement with Parks and Planning representatives took place informally in the parking lot.

As pointed out last month this coercive approach to “annexing” these Park Lands is a repeat of Calgary Parks efforts in 2005-6 to expand the QPC into these lands. Details of this history and how the Community Association successfully fought this application may be found on our website (www.cambrianheightscommunity.com). In July 2006 City Council instructed Calgary Parks to not proceed with the acquisition of these lands for QPC expansion but rather to search out lands in the southern part of the City for a new cemetery. That of course was 12 years ago. They have failed to complete that mandate and want our Community to pay the price.

The Community Association continued through May to lobby Calgary Parks to withdraw the Application. Repeatedly Parks officials have quoted inventory within the existing boundaries of QPC to be 2-3 years. That is with the current 2017 practice of selling pre-needs burial sites at twice the rate of at need sites. This artificial “demand” could be easily reduced to extend further the existing life of QPC. This is against the scheduled opening of the City’s new cemetery in south Calgary slated for late 2019. We are apprehensive, since there has been no future plans provided, of a desire by Calgary parks to continue to expand QPC over the years to satisfy the demand for an inner City cemetery at the expense of park lands in our community. At the writing of this letter the Planning department will be making a recommendation to the Calgary Planning Commission (“CPC”) in June/July and the further recommendation of CPC going to City Council in the Fall. At that point Council will allow presentations or submissions by interested parties. We encourage all residents to follow developments closely on our website and by joining our facebook page (Cambrian Heights Community) which may be easily accessed from our website.

On a positive note the first Jane’s Walk held in our Community on May 5 was a resounding success with over 50 attendees with children and dogs walking the neighbourhood. A picture of the attendees leaving the Community Hall is shown. Thanks to organizers Pablo Policzer and Jodi Dixon everyone learned of the community history and met some of the original homeowners within Cambrian Heights dating back to 1956. At the end everyone returned to the Community Hall for refreshments and conversations with new friends.

The Annual general Meeting was held on May 15 with higher attendance than is usually the case. The Park issue discussion plus attendance by Alderman Sean Chu and representation from our MLA Craig Coolahan made it an evening well worth attending. Our presentation and the Community financials have been added to the website for your reference.

A complete list of currently scheduled special events at the Community Hall are as follows:

Community Cleanup Event     Sept. 9

Fall Family BBQ                      Sept. 22

Halloween Party                     Oct. 27

Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community. Please contact cambrianheights@gmail.com for more information on volunteering.

Due to a lack of volunteers we are not holding our Stampede Breakfast in July. It is unfortunate but an undertaking to prepare and feed 200-300 people involves a pre-commitment of residents and we cannot rely on the same few people for all our social programs.

We continue to look for volunteers who may have a specific interest in:

• Secretary for Board & Annual General Meetings
• Social Activity Organizers
• Planning & Development Committee Members
• Casino Fundraising Organizers

All the above have specific job descriptions and experienced past directors who can guide and ease the transition into community service. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

The next meeting of the Board will take place September 10th. All residents are welcome to attend and share any concerns, questions or ideas you may have for our community. These meetings take place at the Georgina Thomson City building on 14th Street and Northmount Drive.

Remember Participation Builds Your Community.
Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

The major issue that has arisen in our Community was the filing of the Redesignation Application DL2018- 0062 converting the Community’s existing reserve (S-SPR) park land bounded by 10th Street and 32nd Avenue into S-CRI (Special Purpose – City and Regional Infrastructure) classification and then the proposed expansion of the Queen’s Park Cemetery (“QPC”) onto these lands. These reserve Lands are currently being utilized as an Off-Leash Dog Park. The application was filed March 19 with responses required by April 13 to City Planning and Development (giyan.brenkman@calgary.ca). Further, the City of Calgary Parks announced there would be an “informational session about the cemetery expansion” on May 9 from 6-8 PM at the Highwood Community Hall.

This coercive approach to “annexing” these park lands is a repeat of City Park’s efforts in 2005-6 to expand the QPC into these lands. At that time the Community Association successfully fought this application based on these lands having been part of the Cambrian Heights Community since 1956 and had been assigned Reserve Status as parkland or green space for the community. In combination with the Reserve Status the Community demonstrated that according to the Provincial Municipal Government Act (“PMGA”), the City would have to pay into a special fund the market value of the land estimated at the time of between $6.5 – $9.0 million. Accordingly, in July 2006 City Council instructed City Parks to not proceed with the acquisition of these lands for QPC expansion but rather to search out lands in the southern part of the City for a new cemetery. That, of course, was 12 years ago.

So once again, City Parks is asking to do the same thing and is doing so without proper consultation with the Community involving reasonable timeframes for evaluation and response. With an overwhelming opposition to this application from individuals and the Community Association expressed in emails to Planning and Development, City Parks as well as Alderman Sean Chu (sean.chu@calgary.ca), the City Parks suspended their application on April 6. At the writing of this letter City Parks has indicated they are evaluating the application and will be holding engagement opportunities on the previously announced May 9 date and on possibly April 26. We strongly encourage all residents to attend and make your opinions heard. The City puts significant value on these types of meetings feedback. For updates involving this issue, residents should go to the City website (www.calgary.ca) and search QPC Expansion or LOC2018-0062.

While recognizing the space limitations of QPC all inner-city cemeteries have finite room for expansion. This public cemetery is over 80 years old and has served the City residents well. Now it is reaching capacity and there exists the new cemetery east of the Ralph Klein Park in the south. This is scheduled to be ready for interments by 2020. QPC has ample room to accommodate the next few years especially if bulk sales of “reserved” plots are ceased. Responses from residents copied to the Community Association has been 100% against the loss of this large park space for reasons of active year-round social recreation on the lands, the retention of this park as a Reserve for future generations, the need for inner-city communities of green space and the precedent this may establish for future annexation of the nearby public tennis courts and baseball ball field adjacent to the QPC to cover short-term needs. Once a cemetery, these park lands are forever lost.

I attach a picture of the three children who obtained over 100 names on a petition against the QPC expansion within a week or so of its announcement. Such community spirit is worth applauding. A second online petition gathered over 500 signatures can be found at www.change.org and search Cambrian Heights.

We encourage all residents to follow developments closely on our website and by joining our Facebook Group (Cambrian Heights Community) which may be easily accessed on our website. At the upcoming Annual General Meeting on May 15 at the Community Hall, we will also be updating the status of the City Parks plans and our response.

A complete list of currently scheduled special events at the Community Hall are as follows:

Jane’s Walk May 5
Annual General Meeting May 15
Stampede Breakfast or July 14
alternatively a Fall BBQ September 22 or 29
Community Cleanup Event Sept. 9

Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community. Please contact cambrianheights@gmail.com for more information on volunteering.

We are currently evaluating whether to re-instate our Stampede breakfast that was suspended due to the kitchen renovations last summer. As an alternative, we are investigating the possibility of hosting a family Fall BBQ in September as a replacement. Please voice your opinions by contacting the community at the previously identified email address.

We continue to look for volunteers who may have a specific interest in:

Secretary for Board & Annual General Meetings
Social Activity Organizers
Planning & Development Committee Members
Casino Fund Raising Organizers

All the above have specific job descriptions and experienced past directors who can guide and ease the transition into community service. For more information please contact president@cambrianheightscommunity.com.

The next meeting of the Board will take place May 7th. All residents are welcome to attend and share any concerns, questions or ideas you may have for our community. Please contact us at our email address for the specific time and place.

Remember Participation Builds Better Communities.

Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

With the arrival of Spring on March 20th, we look back on a very snowy winter in Calgary. Hats must go off the Rink Rats led by Scott Jacobson who have done yeoman’s work keeping the Cambrian outdoor ice rinks clear and in excellent condition. In addition, the beginning of 2018 has witnessed changes in our community development. City Council is turning administration of secondary suite applications over to Administration and this has resulted in a large number of submissions questioning the enforcement of illegal suites, the regulation of newly approved suites and the use of backyard lane suites as opposed to basement style suites. We encourage owners to be vigilant towards new applications as they impact your residence and make your concerns known to the City authorities. Similarly, there has been an increase in new development applications and you have a definite right to see the details of new construction and evaluate the impact on your residence and privacy. We encourage you to visit our website for guidelines especially our publication “Lessons Learned” for a practical guide to development issues.

A joint February Rustic Sign Handicraft Workshop involving the Cambrian School Parents and the Community Association was a great first success as the enclosed picture demonstrates with some of the participants. This was run as a fundraiser for the benefit of the school children.

In April there are three main events. On April 3 from 6:30 to 7:30 there will be a free registration session with a door prize and refreshments entitled Fun and Fearless Fitness. This will kick off four weekly evening sessions involving different disciplines for exercising designed as new programs to complement our existing yoga and Jazzercise programs.

This will be followed by a Red Cross sponsored  “Be Ready” evening program on April 10 at 7 PM designed to prepare your family for any personal disaster.

A highlight of the month will be the Wine Tasting Evening on April 14 at 7:30 featuring Spanish wines and speciality cheeses supplied by Springbank Cheese. This will be a great introduction to inexpensive quality wines from Spain. A sparkling white wine will introduce you to the tasting of 3 whites and 3 reds from different regions of Spain all explained in detail and matched to cheese and charcuterie plates. Tickets are $35 for members and $40 for guests and are available through eventbrite.ca

A complete list of currently scheduled special events at the Community Hall are as follows:

Other than the Wine tasting all these events are free to attend. Please check our website for updates and details of all events. Volunteering for setup, takedown or general assistance is an excellent way to make sure such events continue and to meet other members of the community. Please contact cambrianheights@gmail.com for more information.

We note a recent announcement by the City of Calgary that the off-leash dog park located at 32 Avenue and 10 Street will be closing with an expansion of the City’s Queens Park Cemetery. The City will be hosting an informational meeting at the Highwood Community Hall on May 9. This will be followed up in June with a community engagement on potential future sites. For more information visit calgary.ca/offleaseprojects.

We continue to look for volunteers who may have a specific interest in the Planning Committee or who will be able to become involved in the Provincial Casino fundraising program. The next Casino we estimate will not be until early 2019 so there is plenty of time to benefit from past experience and procedures.

The next meeting of the Board will take place April 9th. All residents are welcome to attend and share any concerns, questions or ideas you may have for our community. Please contact us at our email address for the specific time and place.

Remember Participation Builds Better Communities.

Daryl Connolly, President CHCA