Smart Growth Bulletins & FAQs |
Bulletins:
Learn more about Smart Growth St. Albert with our weekly Bulletins.
Please join us on our Facebook page to discuss each week's topic.
Please email smartgrowth@st-albert.net if you would like to receive the weekly bulletin through email.
Bulletin 1 - Smart Growth Defined
For more information, see: Brief 1- Back Lanes
Bulletin 2 - Capital Region & Land Use
Bulletin 3 - Approaches to Growth
Bulletin 7 - Form-based Zoning
Bulletin 8 - Health & the Built Environment
Bulletin 9 - Smart Growth & Market Demand
Bulletin 11 - Smart Growth & Business Development
Bulletin 12 - Smart Growth & Recreation
Bulletin 13 - Smart Growth & the Environment
Technical Bulletins:
Bulletin 1 - Form-based vs. Conventional Zoning: A Comparison
Bulletin 3 - The Pedestrian Pocket
Bulletin 7 - Civic Spaces
Bulletin 8 - Neighbourhoods & Zones
FAQ's:
Does Smart Growth St. Albert fit in with the plans of the Capital Region Board?
The proposed changes in Smart Growth St. Albert fit very well with the purpose, policies and principles of the Capital Region Board's (CRB) Land Use Plan. The proposal for Smart Growth St. Albert is highly compatible with the purpose of the CRB's Land Use Plan:
- Minimizing the Region's footprint
- Development based on Transit-oriented development
- Densification of existing developed areas
The proposals for Smart Growth St. Albert also align very closely with the various principles from the CRB plan such as:
- Create inclusive communities
- Support healthy communities
- Integrate transportation systems with land use
- Support public transit
- Support the expansion of transit service in various forms
- Support innovative and affordable housing options
- Support expansion of medium and higher density residential housing forms
- Attract and retain individuals and families with a diverse range of skills to the Capital Region to satisfy the region's economic development goals
Link: Capital Region Board Land Use Plan
http://capitalregionboard.ab.ca/index.php/land-use
Will the Form-based Regulations change the Land Use Bylaw?
The Form-based zoning regulations will become a stand-alone section of the Land Use Bylaw which will be applicable to the annexed lands only.
The existing Land Use Bylaw sections will continue to apply to the rest of St. Albert (pre-annexation area).
Why change the way we do zoning?
Conventional zoning focuses on separating land uses. It was initiated in the Industrial age to prevent people living adjacent to noxious industrial activities. However, there are many uses that are very compatible and work well in the same area. Conventional land use zoning makes it challenging to mix compatible uses in the same area.
To make an increase of density work well, more focus needs to be placed on urban design and a mix of compatible uses. Form-based zoning is a more effective and streamlined approach to creating neighbourhoods based on Smart Growth principles with a focus on urban design rather than use.
Why can't we keep developing neighbourhoods in the same way?
Little room to grow outwards - St. Albert has many constraints all around it that prevent us from growing outward much farther than we have, so the City is limited in the amount of land it can acquire for future development.
Can't support high-frequency transit - To sustain high-frequency transit, a community should have an average density of 75 dwelling units per hectare. Currently St. Albert has an average density of 10 dwelling units per hectare. If St. Albert wants to encourage the development of an LRT line, the City needs to ensure the ridership will be here to sustain it.
High servicing costs - the costs of servicing the new areas (providing utilities) are passed on to the developers, builders and ultimately homeowners. The projected costs for servicing the annexed lands are so high that it isn't feasible to build at the same density levels we have now.
If we increase the density of development, will we just add a lot a high-rises and apartment buildings?
No, the majority of the residential land will still be typical residential streets with houses or semi-detached or three/fourplexes along them.
Low and high-rise buildings will be focused along key street corridors called Community Connectors and Parkways. These buildings will face the streets, act as a buffer between the traffic and the lower density residential neighbourhoods, and create pedestrian-oriented, transit-friendly streetscapes. There will also be a few key high-density nodes called Transit-oriented development zones where most of the higher density buildings will be located.
Why can't we increase density and use a curvilinear street system like we have in our neighbourhoods now?
Increasing density does increase the number of people and the amount of traffic in an area. Because all traffic in a neighbourhood with curvilinear streets gets funnelled to one or two key streets in a neighbourhood, all additional traffic is added to that and the impact is much more noticeable.
Also, a curvilinear street system provides very poor connectivity for people to walk. They have to take long, round-about routes to get from one place to another and as a result are more likely to drive.
With a modified grid street system, drivers have many routes to choose from so any particular section of street has far less traffic along it and increases in the amount of traffic generated from a neighbourhood has a limited impact on traffic.
The modified grid is much better at providing people with short, direct distances between destinations and encourages them to walk more often.
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