Suburban-style front garages coming to mature Edmonton neighbourhoods?
When do you think a developer should be able to build a large, front double-garage extending several metres out from the front of a house in a mature neighbourhood?
Should that decision be up to the city’s development officer? Or should the neighbours have a say?
Bylaw changes to the Mature Neighbourhood Overlay that would allow more of these garages to be built are coming before city councillors next week Monday. The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues is objecting, worried these new regulations are not about increasing density, they are about allowing “monster homes,” says Bev Zubot, who follows planning for the federation.
Here’s a quote from an alert sent out to all community leagues:
The front garage regulations limiting the size and protrusion of front garages have been eliminated, and it is left to the City’s Development Officer to determine whether the proposed front garage is characteristic of the block. The changes to Section 7 of the MNO could be problematic because some suburban-style houses with large, protruding attached front garages had begun to be built in older neighbourhoods before the MNO came into effect, thus the City could determine there is precedent for them. If the City’s Development Officer determines that a precedent has been set, the neighbours and the Community League will not be notified because no rules will have been varied- the decision on what is characteristic of the block is left to the judgment of the Development Officer.
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/10...oming-to-mature-edmonton-neighbourhoods/