The decision to rezone a parcel of land in Springbank Hill, laying the groundwork for a contentious new townhouse development, has been push to January 2026.
The decision came Tuesday at a public hearing following a motion from Coun. Sonya Sharp to postpone the debate.
“We need more time,” Sharp said to council. “The community needs more time, and the applicant needs more time.”
The delay is viewed as a win for residents opposed to the development, who wanted the rezoning decision made following the upcoming civil election. Sara Austin, a Springbank Hill resident and spokesperson for the group pushing for the delay, calls the entire development process “difficult and frustrating,” saying she and her neighbours should not have to fight to be heard.
“We have a democratic right to be represented by an elected councillor,” said Austin. “Ward 6 has been unrepresented since November of last year… we have been pleading with members of council for months now to have our voices heard.”
Ward 6 Coun. Richard Pootmans stepped down from the role in November 2024 for health reasons. Since then, councillors Sharp, Courtney Walcott, and Kourtney Penner have been the area representatives, but residents argue they can’t adequately represent their needs during a vote.
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That’s the argument the group took to a judge Monday, asking for an injunction to postpone the rezoning decision until after October’s municipal election. The judge denied that request, a decision Mayor Jyoti Gondek says proves that just because a ward doesn’t have a councillor doesn’t mean it isn’t represented.
“Every member of council has a fiduciary responsibility to all Calgarians,” said Gondek. “So, when we are making decisions, we are making them on behalf of all Calgarians, not just the folks who elected us in a given ward.”
The proposed Augusta Villas would see 42 townhouses built on just over one hectare of land along Elveden Drive S.W. A change to the land use designation is needed to move the project forward. The developer is asking the city to re-designate the lot from low density mixed housing (R-G) to multi-residential at grade oriented (M-G), a change that falls outside the city’s blanket rezoning bylaw passed last year.
Austin says she and her neighbours aren’t opposed to densification in the community but say the proposed development doesn’t fit within the Area Structure Plan. She says they are open to meeting with the developer to find some kind of solution.
“We’re talking about adding an extra 42 to 84 cars to our road,” said Austin. “And particularly safety concerns of local school children who walk down this road every single day with no sidewalks to protect them.”
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