I wish to share with you the Rideau Roxboro Community Association Newsletter and draw you attention to the letter addressed to the Mayor and City Council as to our Community recommendations on the proposed new City of Calgary By-laws for the flood affected areas of Calgary.
James Maxim
Rideau Roxboro Community Association
E-Newsletter
June 8, 2014
Hi Everyone,
Our annual summer party is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 beginning at 4 pm on Roxboro Glen Road (by the dog park and Marion Gibson Hall). Flood volunteers, family, friends and, of course, all community residents are welcome to attend. It promises to be the largest and best event we have ever put on, though we would like to have a general idea of likely numbers so we can ensure it is well run. Lavina Gilliland along with a number of other volunteers have put a tremendous amount of work into organization. Watch for further notices.
The City Bylaw Amendment discussed in the last newsletter is coming back before Council next Monday June 9 at 9:30 am. Some amendments have been made, though it still designates the neighbourhood as non-conforming. See below for more information and send a letter or plan to attend if you have strong views.
Unless something significant happens, this will be the last newsletter until next September. It has been quite a year. Enjoy your summer!
Warm regards,
Ken Lenz
Rideau Roxboro Communications
Summer Party
Bands, food, tents, activities for children, a cash bar, volunteer recognition items and general laughter and conversation will be the order of the day for the party planned on Saturday, June 21. Volunteers will be needed and let Lavina Gilliland know if you can help.
All those that helped out during the flood are invited to this event, though we decided to not put out a general invitation to the world because we cannot safely manage a Woodstock with our limited volunteer pool. If you have people you want to invite, please do so but please make sure you let the organizers know, especially if you expect a large number. We hope to have a great turnout.
For more information, watch for updates or contact:[email protected]
Membership Drive.
We have had a good response to our annual membership drive. Miriam Berchuk visited every house and dropped off a package. If you have not sent in your dues and your annual form, please do so. For more information contact: [email protected]
Marion Gibson Hall Completed
After several months of work, the restoration of Marion Gibson Hall is completed. The community association executive is in the process of replacing chairs, tables and other items lost in the flood. We are also looking at changing the deck but we are back to functionality and we expect it to be open again by the time of the summer party. Fortunately, the building was insured and even the deductible was covered through a grant. Many thanks to those who worked on getting the building back and in particular, Jeff Belford.
Proposed Community Protection
BermLast month the Community Association circulated for comments a report which set out the work that would be required to protect Rideau Roxboro from a 1 in 30 year flood. A copy of the report is here: Report
The essence of the report was that sand bagging low lying areas along the river is feasible. We do not believe the few private homes asked to participate would object. It could raise water levels in surrounding communities by as much as an inch. It would involve about $90,000 in sandbags and an unknown amount of labour. It would be much less costly if some landscaping was done on empty lots and the park by the embankment as probably 2/3 of the work would be building up the bank between 2nd avenue and the embankment.
The responses to the were varied and included the following:
- there is a concern that another berm, like the ones proposed by the City and Stampede, is not a solution and that it detracts from efforts for upstream dry dams and a tunnel, which are the only permanent solutions
- there was support to present the report to the City and province for input and as a means to encourage them to implement something like this or come up with better alternatives
- a number of residents mentioned that fixing the problems with the sewer system and pumping station should be top priority as sewer back up was was the source of most of the problems in the 2005 flood and universal in the 2013 flood, though the overland flooding made it less visible.
- a significant number of residents expressed serious reservations about even a modest affect on other communities. Interestingly, it is fair to say that residents of Rideau Roxboro are way more concerned about affecting others than the City (with the Safeway berm) or the Stampede (with its flood wall) appear to be
- finally, it was put forward that none of the the City, the Province or environmental groups appear to focus on the obviously significant environmental impact the flood had and the need to avoid that in the future
Community Association President Lee Prevost will take the report forward to public officials with a view to seeking their response, and in particular to the City with a view to getting something done on the sewer back up problem and the pumping station. We will keep you posted.
Proposed Land Use Bylaw ChangesThe changes to the Land Use Bylaw affecting our community come back before City Council tomorrow. In response to public pressure, the City has proposed some guidelines for its discretion to require further mitigation steps if a development permit is sought. Please refer to the City website and the CRCAG website for more information (see May newsletter).
As we understand it, under the proposed guidelines the required mitigation for an addition of 10%-50% are an electrical disconnect above the flood line and a backwater valve. Between 50%-75%, the additional requirement is protection for the mechanical equipment. Lee Prevost specifically asked if raising the furnace and hot water tank off of the basement slab would qualify as adequate protection and both Mark and Carol (Administration) said yes.
Using a footprint of 1000 sq ft. as a basis, we didn't see any viable 10% addition that community members would choose to undertake, meaning we felt the 10% maximum addition without mitigation was a throw away. 20% at least allows for the addition of a front entry, vestibule, bedroom - reasonable spaces. The Community Association thinks that should be the minimum.
For everything else up to 75%, the mitigation requirements on their own are not prohibitive (in fact most of our community has probably already satisfied two of the three), until you introduce the non-conforming label and make the sliding scale discretionary. So the Community Association position is in favour of incorporating the mitigating effects of the upstream projects into the discussion, removing the non-conforming label, and embedding the sliding scale into the bylaw.
Below is a letter President Lee Prevost has sent to the Mayor and to the Councillors. Please consider sending a similar letter, or attending tomorrow's meeting, beginning at 9:30 at City Hall.
To Whom it May Concern
We request that you reconsider the Proposed Land Use Bylaw Amendment for the Flood Hazard Area that is slated for the June 9th meeting of City Council. Although we were encouraged when Council tabled the amendment on May 12th and directed City Administration to engage with the public, we are disappointed that no meaningful subsequent engagement occurred. Instead, we were informed on May 29th that existing homes will still lose the grandfathering clause, will henceforth be considered non-conforming, and will require a relaxation in order to invoke the sliding scale mitigation requirements contained in the bylaw amendment. We would like the following factors taken into consideration.
As the full extent of upstream
James Maxim
Rideau Roxboro Community Association
E-Newsletter
June 8, 2014
Hi Everyone,
Our annual summer party is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 beginning at 4 pm on Roxboro Glen Road (by the dog park and Marion Gibson Hall). Flood volunteers, family, friends and, of course, all community residents are welcome to attend. It promises to be the largest and best event we have ever put on, though we would like to have a general idea of likely numbers so we can ensure it is well run. Lavina Gilliland along with a number of other volunteers have put a tremendous amount of work into organization. Watch for further notices.
The City Bylaw Amendment discussed in the last newsletter is coming back before Council next Monday June 9 at 9:30 am. Some amendments have been made, though it still designates the neighbourhood as non-conforming. See below for more information and send a letter or plan to attend if you have strong views.
Unless something significant happens, this will be the last newsletter until next September. It has been quite a year. Enjoy your summer!
Warm regards,
Ken Lenz
Rideau Roxboro Communications
Summer Party
Bands, food, tents, activities for children, a cash bar, volunteer recognition items and general laughter and conversation will be the order of the day for the party planned on Saturday, June 21. Volunteers will be needed and let Lavina Gilliland know if you can help.
All those that helped out during the flood are invited to this event, though we decided to not put out a general invitation to the world because we cannot safely manage a Woodstock with our limited volunteer pool. If you have people you want to invite, please do so but please make sure you let the organizers know, especially if you expect a large number. We hope to have a great turnout.
For more information, watch for updates or contact:[email protected]
Membership Drive.
We have had a good response to our annual membership drive. Miriam Berchuk visited every house and dropped off a package. If you have not sent in your dues and your annual form, please do so. For more information contact: [email protected]
Marion Gibson Hall Completed
After several months of work, the restoration of Marion Gibson Hall is completed. The community association executive is in the process of replacing chairs, tables and other items lost in the flood. We are also looking at changing the deck but we are back to functionality and we expect it to be open again by the time of the summer party. Fortunately, the building was insured and even the deductible was covered through a grant. Many thanks to those who worked on getting the building back and in particular, Jeff Belford.
Proposed Community Protection
BermLast month the Community Association circulated for comments a report which set out the work that would be required to protect Rideau Roxboro from a 1 in 30 year flood. A copy of the report is here: Report
The essence of the report was that sand bagging low lying areas along the river is feasible. We do not believe the few private homes asked to participate would object. It could raise water levels in surrounding communities by as much as an inch. It would involve about $90,000 in sandbags and an unknown amount of labour. It would be much less costly if some landscaping was done on empty lots and the park by the embankment as probably 2/3 of the work would be building up the bank between 2nd avenue and the embankment.
The responses to the were varied and included the following:
- there is a concern that another berm, like the ones proposed by the City and Stampede, is not a solution and that it detracts from efforts for upstream dry dams and a tunnel, which are the only permanent solutions
- there was support to present the report to the City and province for input and as a means to encourage them to implement something like this or come up with better alternatives
- a number of residents mentioned that fixing the problems with the sewer system and pumping station should be top priority as sewer back up was was the source of most of the problems in the 2005 flood and universal in the 2013 flood, though the overland flooding made it less visible.
- a significant number of residents expressed serious reservations about even a modest affect on other communities. Interestingly, it is fair to say that residents of Rideau Roxboro are way more concerned about affecting others than the City (with the Safeway berm) or the Stampede (with its flood wall) appear to be
- finally, it was put forward that none of the the City, the Province or environmental groups appear to focus on the obviously significant environmental impact the flood had and the need to avoid that in the future
Community Association President Lee Prevost will take the report forward to public officials with a view to seeking their response, and in particular to the City with a view to getting something done on the sewer back up problem and the pumping station. We will keep you posted.
Proposed Land Use Bylaw ChangesThe changes to the Land Use Bylaw affecting our community come back before City Council tomorrow. In response to public pressure, the City has proposed some guidelines for its discretion to require further mitigation steps if a development permit is sought. Please refer to the City website and the CRCAG website for more information (see May newsletter).
As we understand it, under the proposed guidelines the required mitigation for an addition of 10%-50% are an electrical disconnect above the flood line and a backwater valve. Between 50%-75%, the additional requirement is protection for the mechanical equipment. Lee Prevost specifically asked if raising the furnace and hot water tank off of the basement slab would qualify as adequate protection and both Mark and Carol (Administration) said yes.
Using a footprint of 1000 sq ft. as a basis, we didn't see any viable 10% addition that community members would choose to undertake, meaning we felt the 10% maximum addition without mitigation was a throw away. 20% at least allows for the addition of a front entry, vestibule, bedroom - reasonable spaces. The Community Association thinks that should be the minimum.
For everything else up to 75%, the mitigation requirements on their own are not prohibitive (in fact most of our community has probably already satisfied two of the three), until you introduce the non-conforming label and make the sliding scale discretionary. So the Community Association position is in favour of incorporating the mitigating effects of the upstream projects into the discussion, removing the non-conforming label, and embedding the sliding scale into the bylaw.
Below is a letter President Lee Prevost has sent to the Mayor and to the Councillors. Please consider sending a similar letter, or attending tomorrow's meeting, beginning at 9:30 at City Hall.
To Whom it May Concern
We request that you reconsider the Proposed Land Use Bylaw Amendment for the Flood Hazard Area that is slated for the June 9th meeting of City Council. Although we were encouraged when Council tabled the amendment on May 12th and directed City Administration to engage with the public, we are disappointed that no meaningful subsequent engagement occurred. Instead, we were informed on May 29th that existing homes will still lose the grandfathering clause, will henceforth be considered non-conforming, and will require a relaxation in order to invoke the sliding scale mitigation requirements contained in the bylaw amendment. We would like the following factors taken into consideration.
As the full extent of upstream