Due to the current state of Spruce Grove's City Centre Area Redevelopment Plan we are very concerned for the residents of Spruce Grove's downtown.
The ARP has a lot of big changes, some of which are very beneficial, but some that have substantial negative impacts on the residents and homeowners residing in single family homes. If the current policies of the ARP were to take place, all of the single family homes would be rezoned from low density to medium-high density.
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What does this mean? How does this affect these residents?
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Good question.
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The City Planners and Developers have not made it easy to understand for the residents. Basically, rezoning from low density to medium-high density means that single family homes become non-conforming. That doesn't sound good, does it?
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Non-conforming means that if a resident were at any time wanting to do any major renovations to their home or property, they would be restricted from doing so. Want to add a garage or expand your current garage? Not permitted. What about adding a fence? Not happening.
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In addition to that, if a home were to have a fire that damaged 75% or more of the home, they would be unable to rebuild their home. This becomes an issue with insurance as they have to rebuild in the same location, yet they would no longer be able to as the area is medium-high density. Meaning townhouses, apartments or high-rises would have to take its place.
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There's a long list of issues that arise from this ARP but one large and unresolved issue is the issue of selling a home.
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If a homeowner were to try to sell their home, it becomes quite difficult as people looking to find a home are unlikely to want to buy into a home that they are heavily restricted from making larger renovations. Not only that, but developers that come in to build medium-high density don't care about the home, they just want the land. This means they don't care about the historic, well kept home. Nor do they care about the spacious yard or beautiful garden that has been cared for and maintained for years.
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Overall, the ARP brings a lot of serious complications to the residents of Spruce Grove's City Centre. It is unfair to overlook the residents, not help them to achieve a better understanding of what the ARP means and ignorant to disregard the impact it will have on them. FACTSNet has been working diligently to protect the residents and inform them as best as possible.
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Here are some resources to get a better understanding:
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