The EFCL has recommended to the City of Edmonton that the proposed Urban Character Row Housing Zone be modified to create a zone which provides family-oriented housing fronting on pedestrian friendly streets. The EFCL believes that higher density is fine as long as it leaves room for children’s play and for green space. There must be a balance.
The zone proposed by the city would allow for three-storey buildings , three-metre front yards (if there is a boulevard), and four-and-a-half-metre front yards if there are no boulevards. Front driveways/garages would be allowed if there was no lane. In place of a backyard, there could be a roof top patio.
With the feedback from community league members, and the EFCL Planning Committee, EFCL developed an alternative vision for a new row housing zone. It is a zone which creates pedestrian friendly and child friendly streets by requiring treed boulevards, and rear driveways/garages. The majority of the small back yard space would be soft surface (e.g. grass, sand, soil) and permeable, which is important as children’s play space good for vegetation and drainage.
In the interest of young children the EFCL is also recommending fencing in rear yards and safe enclosures for roof top or balcony areas. There also needs to be sightlines to the outdoor amenity space from each floor of the dwelling.
The EFCL would also like to see a limit on the number of garages that can be linked together. Ideally, only two garages should be linked, to allow visual surveillance of the lane and reduce the massing effect of a wall of garages.
In addition, the federation wants to see soundproofing standards for common walls and floor and durable construction materials to withstand the activities of children.
Finally, stacked row housing should have at-grade entries for the lower units in order to accommodate people with mobility challenges.
These recommendations will be brought to the table in meetings with development industry representatives and city planners. A new draft of the row housing zone will be presented to Executive Committee of City Council in mid July, then to a public hearing in September. The EFCL welcomes further input from its members on this topic.
|