The City of Grande Prairie is considering changes to encourage more variety in the form of infill housing in the Residential Transition District (RT District).

The changes allow for different types of housing to be built, but would not change the allowable number of units. In short, the changes would allow someone to build three row houses or two narrow houses where they can currently build up to a threeplex.

The RT District is a zoning category applied to mature neighbourhoods to support infill development. The intent of the changes is to allow for a greater variety of infill housing. Narrow houses and row houses may provide more options for families as well as opportunities for homeownership.

Row houses are currently allowed in these areas but require the approval of a variance to the minimum lot size to be constructed on the typical lot. The proposed changes would make the standards for row houses similar to those for threeplexes so that variances would not be required. Narrow houses are a new concept for Grande Prairie. They have been successfully accommodated in other cities such as Edmonton and Calgary.

The proposed options will only be allowed if parking is provided off of a rear-lane. This will help to preserve on-street parking and space for boulevard landscaping. The changes also include an increase to the required number of parking stalls for row housing when shared visitor parking is not provided.

The RT District is most commonly applied in neighbourhoods with Area Redevelopment Plans (ARP). Infill development needs to meet the standards in an ARP in addition to the zoning regulations. The Hillside Area Revitalization Plan overlay imposes a larger sideyard setback for some development. To accommodate row housing the proposed changes include an exception to this enlarged sideyard so that row houses would only need to meet the setback required by the RT District.

Public Hearing

The proposed amendments will be considered by City Council at a public hearing on Monday, May 3, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers located at 10205 - 98 Street, Grande Prairie.

Due to COVID-19, the City of Grande Prairie has moved all public meetings of Council to an online, livestream platform. They can be viewed publicly by visiting: https://www.cityofgp.com/city-government/council-meetings/meeting-webcast

Anyone wishing to attend to speak as a delegate must contact Legislative Services at AgendaAdmin@cityofgp.com to submit their presentations via email, or receive access to attend remotely via Zoom.

A copy of the proposed bylaws will be available at www.cityofgp.com/publichearings starting April 16th. They may also be viewed at the Planning and Development Department located in the City Service Centre. Our address is 9505 – 112 Street and hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Any person claiming to be affected, or any interested person wishing to make a presentation may do so at this public hearing. If you have any questions regarding the public hearing process, please contact the Legislative Services office at (780) 357-8716.

Any personal information submitted in any written comments in response to this notification are collected for the purpose of assessing the comments and processing the application, including but not limited to the verification that you are an adjacent landowner, and such personal information may be disclosed to the applicant of the amendment application and in administrative reports to and/or public agendas for Council or Council Committee. The City is authorized to collect personal information submitted in any written comments in response to this notification pursuant to Sections 33(a) and 33(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the “FOIP Act”).