Residents of Montgomery Place are overstating the case by claiming their neighbourhood is under siege as they push to remain a virtual island unto themselves, undisturbed by the hustle and bustle of a growing Saskatoon.
With city officials announcing Friday that it has scrapped, for economic reasons, the notion of erecting a wind turbine at the landfill, Montgomery residents, who had from Day 1 opposed its construction citing health concerns, won a victory of sorts.
Now, the Montgomery Place Community Association is balking at the proposal for an apartment complex development at the very edge of the neighbourhood, saying "the character of this community has been preserved for years."
Association president Barb Biddle cites the unique history of the neighbourhood as setting it apart from others in Saskatoon, saying Veterans Affairs bought the land to provide small holdings for veterans returning from the war.
"It had a real country feel, and that country feel has been maintained here. It has mature trees, no sidewalks and very narrow streets - that alone makes the situation different than other areas of the city."
Yet, the 18 acres of land on 11th Street West, where property owner and developer Wally Mah wants to build assisted living apartments, townhouses and senior homes, sits on the fringe of the neighbourhood, is buffered from the neighbourhood proper by the old 11th Street, and has been zoned for four-storey residential development since 1979.
The veterans who were provided the country-like living space long since have been replaced by younger families, and Ms. Biddle's argument about mature trees, narrow streets and lack of sidewalks are very similar to concerns raised by residents in areas such as Nutana and Adelaide, where multi-unit dwellings coexist with older homes.
Her arguments really are no different from those raised by neighbours each time the city or someone else proposes something new, whether it's a home for unwed mothers, a multi-unit care home, apartment units or even a seniors' complex.
In a rapidly growing Saskatoon, it's a fact of life that the character of neighbourhoods is changing. And in an era of growing concern about urban sprawl and environmental consciousness, it's sensible to use "infill" land to provide higher density housing that can accommodate more people.
With civic guidelines in place for such things as the provision of adequate parking for multi-unit complexes, the arrival of potentially 2,000 new residents to Montgomery need not pose the kind of disruption Ms. Biddle envisions to the bucolic life residents now enjoy.
Rather, if the city determines that Mr. Mah's proposal can meet the infrastructure and social requirements, including the capacity of area schools to handle more students, there's no reason to change the zoning to quash any apartment or townhouse construction, as the community association advocates. In fact, the addition of more residents to the area may well serve to improve such things as transit service, which has been cut recently.
Saskatoon's growth has reached Montgomery.
Rather than fight it, the community should work with the city to make the best of the inevitable change.
Read more:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Montgomery+unique/5965176/story.html#ixzz1iz832KDL
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I seem to remeber having something like that on page one, but since we earned a new thread it is no longer. Anyone?
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