City Council approved a proposed strategy for addressing Contaminated Gas Station (Brownsfields) lots that remain empty, undeveloped and a constant frustration for local residents.

 

In the Westmount neighbourhood we have three Brownsfields that residents want to see cleaned up and developed as soon as possible.

 

111 Ave and 124 St.

111 Ave and 127 St.

107 Ave and Groat Road

 

If you are interested into finding out more about this Brownfield Redevelopment Grant Program please download the document in our attachments section located below this article. Also feel free to contact Barbara Daly to find out more information.

 

Barbara Daly - Brownfield Coordinator

Phone: 780-944-0316

Fax: 780-442-7058

E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

If you have any questions or comments about the Brownfield Redevelopment Grant Program you may also post them below and we at the WCL will find the answer for you.

The Groat Estates Residents Association, Properties on High Street Condominiums and the 124st and Area Business Association sent a letter to the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Edmonton expressing collective disappointment in the City’s Public Involvement Plan and process regarding Clifton Place LDA09-0262.

From the letter:

Collaborative Community Building

When the process began, we hoped for something new---that it would be a first step towards increased understanding and communications between the community, the city planning department and developers in our city. Through the Working Group meetings our members learned more about planning concepts and city processes which will enhance future communications with planners and developers. We tried to assist the developer and the City in better understanding the community’s goals and viewpoint. We hoped that a new shared understanding would result in creative options for the future.

As was stated throughout the Working Group process, our biggest hope has always been to build mutual agreement on an application which meets the special needs of the site and ends 20 years of development dialogue. We believe Clifton Place is a special site for a number of reasons. It is a heritage site which includes the home of Malcolm Groat, a man whose contribution to this city is extensive. The site has a beautiful view of the river valley and therefore we must accommodate the public interest. It is also near to the vibrant High Street shopping district and the 124th St. BRZ which needs to be enhanced. Finally, the site should not be viewed as the re-development of a downtown parcel. The site signals an east-west transition between the downtown area and the homes of Glenora and a north-west transition between the river valley and the homes of Groat Estates.

Request to Finish Process

From the beginning we have stated that our wish is to see this site developed in a manner which meets all the interests and unique elements. In our view the process is incomplete and the desired result has not yet been achieved. The community has no intention to surrender until we have a development plan which has a unique urban design, reflects the transitional elements of the parcel, and enhances the character of the surrounding community and businesses. The Groat Estates area has emerged as a desirable neighborhood in good part due to the hard work and commitment of the people in the community over the past 10 years and more. We believe that the applicant should be required to acknowledge that hard work and community contribution by giving back something which is meaningful to the community.

Please download and review the attachment below for more information.

The EFCL is reporting that they are working with the School Board on the School Closure issue. I have copied the article from their website for your convenience. Please use the comments section to voice your opinion on the issue. Every opinion counts and will not go unnoticed.

The EFCL is entering discussions with the Edmonton Public School Board on the controversial issue of school closures. Last fall, the school board agreed to a two-year moratorium on school closures, after the federation and many members of the public expressed their dissatisfaction with the current review process. It appeared to the EFCL that not enough focus was being placed on ways to keep schools open and viable.

The federation fully recognizes that this is a very difficult issue. The bottom line to much of this is the declining numbers of young families in mature neighborhoods, which is an issue the federation is reviewing in concert with the city‘s recently-announced Community Revitalization task force.

The federation is hosting a meeting with the public school board on April 19 to kick start discussions on this topic. Meanwhile, the federation is also attempting to meet with the Minister of Education to promote community usage of any new schools that are built. A number of our newer leagues are looking at sharing space, rather than building a hall and the local school is an obvious option.

If you are not an organizational representative and still want to have a voice on this issue feel free to fill out the online petition by clicking the image link below:

Download the open letter calling on Edmonton Public School Board to vote for a moratorium on school closures.

If you wish to sign on to this letter on behalf of your organization, you can just email your Name, Position, Organization and Contact Information to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will add you to the signatories.

Please feel free to use this letter to prepare your own letter.  If you wish to address yours to your Trustee, or any other Trustee, their email addresses can be found on the EPSB website at http://www.epsb.ca/trustees/index.shtml. you for your interest in keeping Edmonton's public schools open and our communities vibrant.

Please forward this information to organizations that may oppose school closures.  And please feel free to add your own comments in your forwarding email

Yours truly,

David Thompson
President

Westmount Community League
www.westmountcommunityleague.com

Parents with kids in Edmonton's public schools need not worry about any more school closures... for the next two years any way.

During Tuesday night's meeting of the board of Edmonton Public Schools, trustees voted to impose a two-year moratorium on further closures. This decision comes in the wake of five closures following the 2009-'10 school year. Eastwood, McCauley, Parkdale, Capilano, and Fulton Place schools shut their doors, back in June -- all in an effort to help balance the books

Sarah Hoffman, the vice-chair of the board and trustee for Ward "G," says the board has to find the answer to how much the closures are really costing.

"The numbers that have been batted around the last few years don't seem to really stick on how much we save when we close the schools," said Hoffman, following the meeting.

"We're going to work to find alternatives to school closures and really take time to find the root causes, and hopefully we'll call the other orders of government to the table to work with us."

Original Link

To the Trustees of the Edmonton Public School Board
c/o David Colburn, Chair
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dear Trustees,

We, the undersigned representatives of school councils, community leagues and other community organizations, call upon the Edmonton Public School Board to adopt a moratorium on further school closures.

Closures result in hardships faced by students and their families.  They also hurt communities and property values, as residents with children face a strong incentive to move out of neighbourhoods without schools. Maintaining the buildings, without childrens schooling, does not solve these problems.

We understand that the Board faces financial pressures; however, school closures are not an acceptable solution.

We call on the Board to adopt a moratorium immediately, and then to initiate a process that engages the municipal and provincial governments, and other stakeholders, to develop acceptable solutions.

Yours truly,
 

David Thompson President, Westmount Community League This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Name Position Organization Contact Information

The Westmount Eco Garden Committee will be holding a Town Hall meeting on Monday, September 20th, 2010 between 5pm and 8pm at Westglen Elementary School. This meeting will allow the community to vote between two garden designs based on the ideas provided at our Earth Day event in April. 
 

Jim Diers, whose work with Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods has made him well known throughout the world, will be our keynote speaker. He will be discussing the importance of creating social gathering places, its healthy outcomes for families, and the creation of vibrant communities.
 

Beverages and hot dogs will be provided at the beginning of the meeting, followed by speeches and a vote for which design the community would like to see created. Childcare and entertainment will also be provided during the

speeches. 
 

For further information, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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