The City of Red Deer is seeking public input on its latest round of zoning changes.
The city has embarked on a major overhaul of its Zoning Bylaw to reduce red tape, permit more uses in each zone and provide more clarity on the complicated planning document.
"Unless you use it all the time, it can be a hard document for people to navigate," said city senior planner Christi Fidek. "It's just to make it easier to understand."
The changes will also improve the processes and timelines for applicants to streamline the approval process.
To come up with the suggested changes, city staff reviewed previous applications and the kinds of questions that the planning department fielded. Red Deer's land uses and regulations were also compared with those from other municipalities.
The first phase of the Zoning Bylaw update was completed last spring. It included changes such as an increase to maximum housing heights in developed areas, as well as changes to the sizes of narrow lot frontages and the allowable projection for residential porches, decks and ramps.
A second phase will look at zones not reviewed in the first phase, such as natural areas and parks, public spaces and land designated for future development.
Public service zones are also being divided into specific zones that better reflect their uses. For instance, zone S-WP would cover Westerner Park, S-HC would include health care land uses and S-CG would designate a community and government zone.
The existing public service zone was a catch-all for many institutional and public uses, such as schools, Westerner Park, public utilities facilities and the hospital among others. The broad nature of the zoning made it difficult for applicants to be sure what is allowed, say planners.
Explanations of the proposed zones and a zoning map are available on the city's website at engage.reddeer.ca/zoning-bylaw-phase-2.
Pre-engagement comments will be collected until Jan. 6. More formal public engagement sessions will take place next spring.
The proposed zoning changes are only in the draft stage and will almost certainly be tweaked before a public hearing and council consideration in late 2025.
"We do know that there will be future changes based off the public input we do receive," said Fidek. "And because we're in that pre-engagement phase, we're looking for ideas from the public."
Among those who are following the zoning initiative closely are Red Deer River Naturalists (RDRN) and Woodlea and Waskasoo residents.
Many banded together to oppose a proposed four-storey 120-plus unit seniors apartment next to Gateway Christian School, which was rejected by council once but many expect will return in some form.
The issue was back before council last May when council considered and voted against site-specific zoning changes designed to be more restrictive about the types of supportive living developments that could be considered at the site of the proposed seniors apartment.
RDRN spokesperson Rod Trentham said the apartment site would fall under new service zoning encompassing community and government developments.
Among the changes included in that zoning is accommodation for public offices and greater flexibility in the types of supportive living accommodations that can be approved.
For those who don't want to see a large apartment building planted in a quiet neighbourhood and wildlife corridor, the new zoning has created concern about what the proposed zoning flexibility will mean.
Trentham said RDRN members plan to form a committee to take a close look at the zoning proposals – not just at the apartment site but for he entire city – and offer its recommendations.
