There are numerous locations to choose from to commemorate those who have served. Our family chooses to attend the ceremony at the Field of Crosses located on Memorial Dr. between 3rd and Centre ST NW. The service begins at 10:30am this November 11th. There are over 3000 Southern Albertan soldiers who were killed in action that are represented at the Field of Crosses. If you have any questions in regard to parking at this location or anything else please do not hesitate to contact us as our office is located on 3rd ST NW adjacent to the service.
Click here for more information on all locations to attend a ceremony this Friday.
Sunnyside Community
Province will ban future development on floodways
In the wake of the largest flood in Alberta history, the Tory government announced a sweeping plan to move homes and businesses out of the areas most in danger from a deluge and to flood-proof other areas at risk from rising waters.
But many of the details of the province’s initiative have yet to be nailed down, and the impact on communities such as Calgary and High River is still uncertain.
In a rare Sunday news conference, Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths announced the province will ban new development in floodways — the areas subject to the most destructive flows in so-called “100-year floods.”
The province will allow — and pay for — the repair and rebuilding of damaged homes in floodways, but it will not pay for damages from future floods on refurbished homes in those zones, he said. If a property owner chooses to relocate, the province will provide financial assistance for a new home.
Premier Alison Redford said in an interview that the government is trying to provide “the most choice with the least impact,” but acknowledged the policy will mean tough choices for some homeowners.
“There are people who have homes on the floodway that they love and we’re saying, ‘really, if you want to choose to stay there, you have to understand there are consequences.’ That’s going to be hard for people to hear, but I also think that most people are going to realize that makes sense,” she said.
In flood fringe zones — the portion of hazard areas outside of the floodway — the government will pay for repairing or rebuilding homes affected by the recent disaster, but will require flood-proofing such as berms, water control infrastructure or raising the structure.
The government will pay an additional 15 per cent over replacement costs for flood-proofing measures on individual homes in some cases. In other instances, broader municipal flood mitigation efforts will suffice, but that will only be determined through consultation with municipalities, Griffiths said.
If no flood-proofing takes place, homeowners will not be eligible for disaster assistance in the case of a future inundation. Homeowners in floodways and flood fringe areas across the province who weren’t affected by the recent flooding in southern Alberta and Fort McMurray won’t be relocated and will still be eligible for assistance in case of future flooding.
Griffiths acknowledged the province has no estimate of the number of houses affected by the new policy — though he says the amount located on floodways is small — or the cost involved. The Progressive Conservative government announced an initial $1-billion for flood relief and reconstruction, but said more money would certainly be needed for a disaster estimated as causing multiple billions of dollars in damage.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he knows the government had to move quickly but he was surprised that such a major policy shift would take place without consultation with municipalities.
While he doesn’t disagree with the government’s intent, Nenshi is concerned about how the government will determine what properties fall within each category, saying there are differences in expert opinion over what areas should be considered floodways and what should be designated flood fringe areas.
In a rare Sunday news conference, Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths announced the province will ban new development in floodways — the areas subject to the most destructive flows in so-called “100-year floods.”
The province will allow — and pay for — the repair and rebuilding of damaged homes in floodways, but it will not pay for damages from future floods on refurbished homes in those zones, he said. If a property owner chooses to relocate, the province will provide financial assistance for a new home.
Premier Alison Redford said in an interview that the government is trying to provide “the most choice with the least impact,” but acknowledged the policy will mean tough choices for some homeowners.
“There are people who have homes on the floodway that they love and we’re saying, ‘really, if you want to choose to stay there, you have to understand there are consequences.’ That’s going to be hard for people to hear, but I also think that most people are going to realize that makes sense,” she said.
In flood fringe zones — the portion of hazard areas outside of the floodway — the government will pay for repairing or rebuilding homes affected by the recent disaster, but will require flood-proofing such as berms, water control infrastructure or raising the structure.
The government will pay an additional 15 per cent over replacement costs for flood-proofing measures on individual homes in some cases. In other instances, broader municipal flood mitigation efforts will suffice, but that will only be determined through consultation with municipalities, Griffiths said.
If no flood-proofing takes place, homeowners will not be eligible for disaster assistance in the case of a future inundation. Homeowners in floodways and flood fringe areas across the province who weren’t affected by the recent flooding in southern Alberta and Fort McMurray won’t be relocated and will still be eligible for assistance in case of future flooding.
Griffiths acknowledged the province has no estimate of the number of houses affected by the new policy — though he says the amount located on floodways is small — or the cost involved. The Progressive Conservative government announced an initial $1-billion for flood relief and reconstruction, but said more money would certainly be needed for a disaster estimated as causing multiple billions of dollars in damage.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he knows the government had to move quickly but he was surprised that such a major policy shift would take place without consultation with municipalities.
While he doesn’t disagree with the government’s intent, Nenshi is concerned about how the government will determine what properties fall within each category, saying there are differences in expert opinion over what areas should be considered floodways and what should be designated flood fringe areas.
“Our city is built at the confluence of two rivers,” he said in an interview.
“We really need to know what we’re talking about here. We ended up evacuating nearly 100,000 people, a 10th of our population, and we really need to understand what the province is talking about when we use those terms.”
Bowness, Elbow Park, Mission and Sunnyside were among the neighbourhoods hardest hit by the flooding, which began on June 20.
Nenshi noted that both the Bow and Elbow Rivers have carved slightly new courses because of the flood, requiring updates to flood mapping.
Griffiths said the province will use its existing flood hazard area maps, subject to some tweaking, to determine who falls where.
He noted that some neighbourhoods that suffered the worst flooding in High River — the town that has suffered the most from the catastrophe — have never flooded before and have not been considered part of either a floodway or flood fringe zone. What to do in cases like those has yet to be determined, he said.
Griffiths also could not say whether residents in floodways that choose to leave damaged homes will be compensated for their land, as well as the cost of their homes. He said the province will work with municipalities on a “case-by-case” basis on the issue.
“We fully understand these policies come with extensive considerations and while we don’t have all the answers to all the individual situations faced by Albertans today, we’re working as quickly as possible with municipalities to finalize the details,” said Griffiths.
Griffiths said the province will also require notification on land titles for properties in floodways and those in flood fringe areas that have not been protected against flooding.
Wildrose party Leader Danielle Smith, who represents High River as Highwood MLA, said she wanted to see the government commit to investigating the causes of the flood.
But Smith said she is in agreement with the broad outline of the government’s plan.
“What they are proposing at first blush seems to be practical,” she said.
“But what I worry about is that they’re putting almost 100 per cent of the blame and the responsibility on homeowners to solve this problem. In my opinion, there are some big, important infrastructure decisions and mitigation decisions that need to be made by the federal and provincial and municipal governments.”
With files from Don Braid, Calgary Herald
Happy Canada Day!
There is no better time to be proud of being Canadian!!
Spirits are still high despite the flooding in Calgary thanks to the numerous amounts of volunteers (community workers, clients, friends and families traveling from BC, Saskatchewan and Edmonton…), many companies providing free services (telephone and communications, pumping out water from homes and offices, hauling debris to the dump…) and donations from all across Canada and beyond (financial, food, water, clothing and housing…). Canadian attitudes, compassion, persistent hard work and support for eacother is heartwarming and sure to get us through any situation!
Doug, Susan and Kristen would like to THANK YOU for all the kind emails, phone calls, facebook messages and all support we have received from our clients, fellow RE/MAX agents, friends and family.
To view more photos of our office and the flooding in Calgary please visit the Team Penley McNaughton facebook page by Clicking Here.
Walkability and proximity raises home values…
You are a lucky person if you live inner-city Calgary! The long commute from the suburbs to work, the theater and nightlife has resulted in raising property values in the core. The correlation between walkability and proximity has been documented in a study by the Real Estate Investment Network. Walkability is defined as an area’s proximity to amenities.
Click here to find out more about the study.
Sunnyside got a Walk Score of 85/100! Want to know your walk score?? Click here to visit www.walkscore.com
Shipping containers to transform vacant lot in Sunnyside
The Changing Face of Sunnyside…
Much like khaki pants — bland and utilitarian — shipping containers typically don’t turn heads.
Yet, in recent years, shipping containers, or “sea cans,” have become the darlings of architects, designers and artisans. With a little ingenuity, containers have been modified into multi-storey houses, backyard offices and popular “container villages” such as Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market.
Now, a proposal is in the works to transform a barren, half-acre field near the Sunnyside LRT station into a temporary “container village” that mixes art, commerce and community-building.
“The minute you start to change the colour, the shape, how they fit on top of each other, you’re suggesting to folks to rethink what that space can be,” said Nicole Mion, artistic director of Springboard Performance.
The space in question, a city-owned plot at the corner of 9th Street and 2nd Avenue N.W., has sat vacant for more than a year after an old warehouse was razed.
The land will, at some point, be home to an affordable-housing development. But that could take years to unfold.
In the coming weeks, Mion, along with the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association and the citizen-led Bow to Bluff Initiative, plan to apply for a development permit with the city and hope to have the village built this summer.
“It would be nice if this wasn’t an empty, ugly space with chain link fence around it,” said Tamara Lee, Bow to Bluff’s communication chairwoman. “We want to demonstrate to the community, and even citywide, how to create a great public space — even temporarily.
“It’s basically Lego, and people get excited about space and they get very excited about Lego.”
Ward 7 Ald. Druh Farrell said the site could be zoned as a temporary park and turned over to the community association to oversee. That would allow the community to steer the project. Sort of.
“It can’t just be anybody,” said Farrell. “It needs to be the community association. They have the authority and there’s all sorts of responsibility and consulting.”
It’s not the first time Calgary has flirted with a container village. Mion was instrumental in last fall’s visual arts event at the Fluid Festival in the East Village.
“It goes back to the core of what a village is about … meeting points, courtyards,” Mion said. “In a large city, it is easy to lose sight of our neighbours. It’s very easy to drive to the suburbs, put your car in the garage, have dinner, watch TV and then the day starts again.
“In a village, there are meeting points for conversation, for commerce, for creative ideas, that I think is a really exciting step for Calgary and community.”
Jeffrey Spalding, artistic director with Museum of Contemporary Art Calgary, helped with last year’s container event in the East Village. He hopes this proposed container village inspires Calgarians.
“It’s strange. We’re only talking about a handful of containers parked in a little triangular park in Calgary,” Spalding said. “But, we only get one chance in life to do stuff, and sometimes it’s the most unexpected things that are the most exciting and exhilarating. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
For more information e-mail the city at: hscavitalization@gmail.com or call 403-283-0554.
By trevor howell, Calgary Herald March 25, 2013