Council unanimously supports zoning change at former CBC property despite concerns

A change to the zoning at the former CBC property along Memorial Drive was unanimously approved by Calgary city council on Wednesday, despite concerns from nearby residents over soil contamination.

The decision follows a more than two-hour public hearing late Tuesday evening that saw debate carry into the spillover session on Wednesday afternoon.

The site, at 1706 Westmount Blvd. N.W., was the former home of the CBC for 50 years but was purchased by Anthem Properties in 2016 and has sat vacant since.

Originally set to be a townhouse complex, Anthem Properties is proposing three multi-residential buildings ranging from four to six storeys and close to 270 units.

While those opposed to the development argued there would be impacts to street parking, traffic and shadowing, one of the main concerns brought to council was around creosote contamination.

The concern amongst some residents was development of a partially-underground parkade on the site would disturb the toxic chemical.

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“The human health risk assessments that were done back in 2022 didn’t consider the pathways of exposure which this development may cause,” said Jim Stirling, a retired petroleum engineer who spoke on behalf of residents in West Hillhurst.

Creosote was discovered under the northwest Calgary community after seeping under the Bow River from a former wood treatment plant that operated for nearly 40 years on the west end of the city’s downtown.

According to a five-year monitoring program from the province, there are no concerns to human health when compared to human health guidelines.

A containment wall and groundwater collection system was built on the south bank of the Bow River in 1995 to prevent further seepage, according to the province, and its been under the City of Calgary’s management since 1997 with ongoing monitoring since 2004.

Anthem said it has a risk management plan that has been approved by the Government of Alberta, and the creosote is seven metres below ground within the bedrock.

“The risk management plan really outlines a number of exposure control methods, monitoring, reporting protocols and will endure with the land,” said Rose-Mary Damiani with Anthem Properties.

“So that does provide confidence for the community and some security around management of the site.”

However, some city councillors felt the developer’s plans to mitigate creosote risks were satisfactory to allow the zoning change.

“When it comes to things like this, I think there are different tolerances for risk and risk management and I can appreciate why members of the community might have absolutely zero risk tolerance,” Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian said in her debate.

“I think we have good regulations set out to manage different concerns an it seems like all of those have been met.”

Stirling noted he was “flabbergasted” by council’s decision after urging them to pause the process for further study.

“I’m not saying people were wrong in their assessments, what I’m saying is the public haven’t yet had answers to legitimate questions because the process has been very deliberately steered towards getting development going here,” he said.

A development permit for the site is still under review but if approved, the developer plans to start construction at the site next year.