Cam Stock, of TBC Construction, moves materials at a home renovation project on the Southeast Hill in Medicine Hat. -- NEWS FILE PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
A new long-term development plan for Medicine Hat suggest four “urban villages” be established throughout the city to promote tighter, less costly development but deletes targets for population density.
Increasing density was a key leg of initial discussions of updates for the Municipal Development plan when the process of updating the 30-year outlook was initiated in 2018.
The draft plan will arrive at today’s meeting of the municipal planning commission.
It suggests more centralized amenities, like recreation centres, as a way to reduce cost, and the promotion of a sectoral view of the city to allow smarter development.
The goal, administrators said in 2018, was to position the city to deal with slower population growth, and consider design options and infrastructure that contemplate the effects of climate change and new technology, such as driverless cars on the transportation network.
Initial plan also surmised that Medicine Hat would have difficulty meeting its financial obligations to replace aging infrastructure in the city’s centre while continuing to install and pay for new infrastructure new communities.
The plan also provides in-depth analysis of transportation network, flood, downtown development, and suggests “minor” intensification areas in several established neighbourhoods.
Major intensification areas, called urban villages, would include the north end of Division Avenue in Crescent Heights (including the city’s Brier Run Land development), Trans-Canada Way and Strachan Road areas of the south, and Riverfront areas near the downtown and North River Flats, as well as the area around the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital.
Existing south-end residential developments remain first in the development queue, though new greenfield communities would also not be subject to density targets.
Those have been source of near constant complaint from developers who argue larger lots are needed to satisfy the marketplace.
However, service levels in city manuals would no longer require blanket standards, meaning fewer sidewalks, road access or other services could be allowed in suburban developments.
In terms of population change, the department assumes growth will even out, but at much lower levels over the next 30 years, but reach 80,000 by 2050.
However, the percentage of seniors will rise to one-third, up from 18 per cent in 2016, creating more demand for multi-family housing.
