-image above from 1979

Update June 2021:

Original post April 3, 2021:

In 1976, Ritchie had 1,100 homes sheltering 3,000 or so residents of low to moderate incomes. Most of the houses, built in the post-war period in the 1940s to 1950s, needed repairs. There was also some federal money on the table that needed to be spent. Enter the Neighbourhood Improvement Plan (NIP).

Approved in 1979 after months of community consultation, Ritchie’s NIP aimed, among other things, to preserve Ritchie’s low-density, family-oriented character, pushing back against four-plexes and onsite parking by workers at the Gainers meatpacking plant, and to develop seniors housing close to recreation facilties, and a park / playground for young children south of 76 Avenue.

In 2018, this document was consolidated with another, the Area Development Plan (ARP).

Now, in 2021, the city wants to scrap it/them, along with 76 similar documents articulating residents’ aspirations for their neighbourhoods a generation ago.

By the end of day, Monday, April 5, the online portal for providing the feedback on this omnibus landuse development application will close.

A public hearing before city council will be scheduled in June.

The city’s website says this is the first step in an ongoing process to update and modernize Edmonton’s planning framework, and these 77 plans emerged from 200 under scrutiny because they have fulfilled their intended purpose. This process is part of The City Plan, approved by city council in December, which charts a path forward to a denser city of two million 40+ years from now.

Redevelopment levy is an old idea whose time has come

If you are a history buff, Ritchie’s NIP/ARP make interesting reading. If you are Ritchie’s civics director, Allan Bolstad, they are also instructive!

“From a planning standpoint, I don’t think there is anything to be salvaged from this plan. Hence, I have no concerns about the city’s intention to rescind it. However, one piece of the plan certainly caught my eye. And that was the call to create a redevelopment levy on all new construction in the area.”

This eventually did take place, and the funds were used to purchase some parkland south of 76 Avenue, as well as pay for some hall improvements and a new hockey rink and tennis court on the league grounds.

“It strikes me that the time could not be better for another such levy, given the needs of our league and the significant amount of redevelopment we expect to see happen in our area shortly.” Recent moves at both the civic and provincial level have cut back on grants available to leagues for improving their facilities which serve the recreational needs of their neighbourhoods.

Motion approved

All this was discussed at Ritchie’s board meeting April 2 and, as a result, the Ritchie Community League will petition the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, the City of Edmonton and the Province of Alberta to create a redevelopment levy within the boundaries of Ritchie Community League that the league could use to acquire parkland and enhance its facilities.

Wish us luck!