| Re: "Don't fence me in: Calgarians’ desire for wide-open spaces creating an urban monster," by Roberta McDonald, City, Jan. 20-26, 2005
When I was interviewed by your writer about the development pressures facing the community of Cliff Bungalow-Mission I was worried that the complexities of the subject matter might result in some published inaccuracies or misquotes, and I see that my fears were warranted. In your story I am falsely credited with saying that Cliff Bungalow-Mission has the highest residential zoning of any residential neighbourhood in Calgary. In fact, as the amalgamation of two distinct communities, we have a medium-density district in Cliff Bungalow (largely zoned RM3) and a high-density district in Mission (predominantly RM6). While Mission also has a small RM7 land use district that allows buildings of up to 17 storeys, the distinction of the "highest zoned" neighbourhood would have to go to the Beltline communities of Connaught and Victoria.
What I explained to your reporter is that Mission is the only community in Calgary with an RM6 zoning, which allows for considerable density and a maximum building height of six storeys, in stark contrast to the low-density zonings that predominate in other inner-city communities such as Inglewood, Hillhurst and Sunnyside.
It was also reported that the city is pushing for a zoning of RM12 in Mission, when, in fact, there is no such thing as an RM12 land use district. What appears to have been misconstrued is the fact that, as we work towards revising the Mission Area Redevelopment Plan, the city has proposed a new zoning that would allow for a maximum height of eight storeys, and an independent business group is pressing for a 12-storey development ceiling. The community association, meanwhile, is championing human-scaled development to a maximum of five floors. As can be seen in European cities, density and vitality can easily be accommodated with four- or five-storey buildings. The matter will hopefully be decided when the Area Redevelopment Plan goes to city council in March.
Despite these factual errors, I enjoyed the story as a whole and very much appreciate that Fast Forward continues to address urban planning matters in its pages.
Rob Jobst, director
Cliff Bungalow-Mission Development Committee
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