Wildlife Corridor Under Threat

The new River Valley Redevelopment plan(RVARP)has passed.

The new RVARP is weaker than the old bylaw, allowing far more discretion by a single development officer. That, combined with a Ribbon of Green that embeds infrastructure that has never been subject to location scrutiny or environmental review, means we must remain vigilant. Below, find news regarding specific threats.

1) upzoning proposal in Rossdale by Eugene Dub

Soon City Council will decide whether or not to approve an amendment to the Rossdale Area Redevelopment Plan that would allow for three residential / commercial towers of up to 17 storeys and 490 units. ERVCC opposes this proposal for four main reasons:

1. Environmental impact on the wildlife corridor and bird migratory corridor. This area is an important part of the wildlife corridor and migratory bird corridor. It is currently riparian habitat and park space. As the City Plan, the Ribbon of Green, the River Valley Bylaw, the Natural Connections Strategic Plan and other city plans and policies make clear, we need to protect the river valley, not develop it.

2. The land is a flood plain. As Calgary and High River learned twelve years ago, it is a bad idea to build in flood plains. This is particularly important to understand now that we are in an ecological crisis and are seeing extreme weather events and massive flooding at unpredictable levels. It is misguided to say that because the glaciers are receding, the risk of flooding is low; the fact is that the wildfires in Alberta forests mean that all the rivers in our province have a great risk for flooding now, as the trees and topsoil that would normally slow runoff, especially in the mountains, are gone. Respecting flood plains is more important than ever. Considering the City recently granted Epcor permission to do “flood mitigation” work in Rossdale, it makes no sense to allow further development in this area. 

3. This development detracts from downtown residential development. We need more people to move downtown in order to support the businesses there. This project would detract from downtown residential development. If instead the land was protected and restored as biodiverse parkland, it would serve downtown residents (and all Edmontonians). 

4. Public and Indigenous engagement results. The public engagement process showed that nearly three times as many people oppose the project than support it, largely for the reasons above. We have also heard from Indigenous community members that they are concerned about the impacts of this project on such culturally sensitive land. 

Action: Please email city council (see their email addresses below) and tell them you oppose this project and want to see the river valley protected. You can also sign up to speak here. It is item numbers 3.13 / 3.14, “Rossdale proposed development."

2) The new bike skills park has been approved by the council.

ERVCC’s response is to look for restoration opportunities in the central valley and focus on preventing further infrastructure that could create a choke zone for wildlife. We call on all partners (bikers, walkers, paddlers, birders, etc) to help us look for opportunities in the central valley for road diets, fence removal, and other restoration opportunities.