We have had some recent input from community members on a particularly dirty issue; (Please pardon the pun...)

According to the City of Calgary's website on water drainage; "The City recommends using a commercial car wash to clean your vehicle. Commercial car washes drain to the City’s wastewater treatment facility where the wastewater is cleaned and treated. If you do wash your car in the driveway or street, you cannot use soap. Use water only and ensure that dirt or oil from your car does not get washed down the storm drain."

Also appearing on the site; in the storm-drain "prohibited items list" is the item "soaps or detergents (including biodegradable products)."

If you see someone washing their car in the driveway and dirt and/or oil are not being stopped from going down the storm drain; please call 311 to report the issue.  If you happen to have a camera, digital pictures are good evidence and bylaw officers can act on/with them.

Also from their site: "Failure to comply with the Drainage Bylaw could result in: contaminants or pollutants being released into our rivers obstructions in the storm drainage system (e.g. blocked swales or sewer backup in the pipe system); and flooding. Failure to comply with the Drainage Bylaw can also result in fines ranging from $75 to $10,000 and/or remedial orders."

Work is being performed on a stormwater pond in Fish Creek. 

The general idea of the ponds is to allow sediment to settle; storm water from the storm drain network often carries large amounts of mud and muck that basically just enter the rivers, making things murky for those downstream.  The City of Calgary addresses that via these ponds.

 (This is a fitting article for all the rain we have been having lately, but the need is not caused by the recent rains.)

The somewhat large PDF can be loaded by clicking below (Adobe Acrobat or other PDF reader required)

SQRP_1.pdf (816.56 kb)

A Multi Community MEGA PARADE OF GARAGE SALES will be occurring on JUNE 7th & 8th;                                                                                                                                            Due to the weather some residents have decided to continue the garage sale on June 14th & 15th.
SOMERSET – BRIDLEWOOD (8-4) and SHAWNEE – EVERGREEN (9-5)

www.shawnee-evergreen.net
www.somersetbridlewood.ca
evergreencommunity.ca

MAPS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THURSDAY JUNE 5th AT:BRIDLEWOOD SOBEYS – 2335 162nd Ave SW or the BRIDLEWOOD RBC – 16919 24th St SW.                                                      

No maps are available for the Shawnee-Evergreen garage sales event.

The Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) model at Anderson Station is moving closer to becoming a reality.   

TOD integrates transportation and land use planning to create a location where all residents can live, work, and play with their families in a pedestrian-friendly environment.  The Anderson Station TOD will have superior quality architectural and public realm finishes, higher densities and a mix of land uses.  

The Anderson Station TOD initiative provides tremendous opportunity and potential for all residents, businesses, and communities involved with the project.  The development at Anderson Station will help to accommodate the demands of unprecedented growth in Calgary by creating opportunities for people to live, work, and play in a community environment that is walking distance to an LRT station.  This in turn reduces automobile dependency, carbon emissions and our City’s ecological footprint. Public engagement has been a priority for the Anderson Station TOD initiative since its conception.  Four public information sessions have been held to date, and are examples of how public feedback can help contribute to a project’s overall success.    

The first session, held June 20, 2007, presented participants (stakeholders, residents, businesses and transit riders) with an overview of the concept, principles and benefits of Transit Oriented Development at Anderson Station.  Citizens and stakeholders were asked for their opinions on what they would like to see on the lands at Anderson Station. 

The second information session took place on November 29, 2007.  Attendees were provided a development model proposal for the lands at Anderson Station that took into account the public feedback from first session.  Process and timelines for the approval of land use and outline plans were also provided.  Citizens and stakeholders were invited to comment on this development proposal.  

All materials presented at the November 2007 Open House were posted on the City’s website (www.calgary.ca/TODplanning - in the Anderson LRT Station downloads) along with a comment sheet welcoming additional comments.Additionally, on April 7, 2008 and 19, 2008 respectively, a separate visioning workshop and a land use planning exercise were held to gather some useful feedback on the Anderson Station Area Plan – the area surrounding the LRT Station. Further land use planning exercises are currently being organized for June.

Input from the successful community engagement events has assisted in forming a development proposal for the Anderson Station area. The Anderson Station TOD team has considered the comments received from both engagement sessions, as well as the continued public feedback received through the website, and have refined and developed their proposal for Land Use Re-designation and Outline Plan at Anderson Station. This proposal has recently been submitted to the City of Calgary approving authority to be circulated and processed following typical procedures and practices followed for a land use redesignation and outline plan application. 

The Anderson Station TOD team will continue to consider ongoing comments and concerns as the project moves through the application process. A public hearing is expected to be scheduled late in 2008. Details on the public hearing will be posted on the Anderson Station TOD website as soon they have been confirmed. Information about the development proposal, as well as the communications program, will be provided online through the City of Calgary’s TOD website.  For more information on the TOD Anderson initiative please visit the TOD website  (www.calgary.ca/TODplanning) for regular updates.

Last fall, the community learned that the owners of the Shaw-Nee Slopes Golf Course had received an offer to purchase the land for residential development. Although the offer fell through, it became clear that we had to mobilize if we wanted to influence the changing landscape of our community. The Shawnee-Evergreen Community Association formed a Land Use Committee, which has been working on the golf course issue from two perspectives:

• Preparing to oppose an application from a future buyer to rezone the golf course land for residential development.
• To work with Shaw-Nee Slopes Golf Course representatives to find solutions that are agreeable to the community.  

• Highbury (240 units) across from Fish Creek LRT station,
• Canvas by Medican (300+ units) north of Sobeys,
• Evergreen Grove (193 units) in the heart of Evergreen, and
• Sanderson Ridge by Medican (354 units) north of 146 Ave SW in Evergreen.  

 We already have traffic problems that impact our daily commute and they will continue to grow when these developments open their doors to thousands of new residents. Now, imagine the impact of filling the many hectares of golf course land with more residential development. It’s scenarios like this that the volunteers are currently researching in preparation to oppose any future rezoning application.  

 Traffic is one area that the Land Use Committee is researching, but there are others including utilities, density and the relationship between the golf course and Fish Creek Park.  

 Approximately one dozen volunteers are actively engaged in research under the able direction of John Ackermans, a recently retired project manager. Although many live in the community, it is interesting to note that several volunteers are from neighbouring areas. They recognize the potential impact of losing the golf course to residential development and have stepped forward to lend their expertise.  

 This is a well organized, professional research team and they continue to welcome new volunteers each month. If you are interested in getting involved, we have a spot for you. You can expect to spend no more than two to three hours a week on this project. Feel free to contact me directly if you would like to learn more. We welcome any questions you may have about the work of the Land Use Committee and our efforts to prevent residential development of the golf course.  [edited for website by Norm Rousseau] You can click here, or on the Contact tab in the upper right corner of this site, and submit a short note or attach a file. We’ll get back to you directly and, if appropriate, post our response online.   

Richard Arnold
Chair,
Land Use Committee
Shawnee Evergreen Community Association
403-236-9350 / arnoldrm@shaw.ca