City extends Willow Flats rezoning comment deadline

The City of Yellowknife has given residents more time to comment on a proposal that would rezone some green space for infill housing.

An updated sign placed near the site of the proposed rezoning, in the city’s Willow Flats neighbourhood, also stresses that a public hearing is coming at which residents can “share your comments directly with council.”

That public hearing has yet to be formally scheduled. It’s a precondition for a proposed zoning amendment like this.

The new feedback deadline is 4:30pm on July 4, having originally been June 27.

The areas in question are directly across the street from Lundquist Road, as well as across the street along the west side of School Draw Avenue.

They are currently zoned as parks and recreation and nature preservation land.

The proposed change will see a strip of the parks and recreation zone west of School Draw changed to RI-1, which stands for light residential intensification. 

Across the street from Lundquist, an open space zoned as parks and recreation currently acting as a pop-up skate park would also become RI-1.

The RI-1 zoning is different from RI, the standard residential intensification zoning code, in that it supports residential intensification on a reduced scale where land and properties are limited by factors like their topography.

The zones primarily permit multi-unit dwellings and townhouses – with no single detached dwellings.

The city’s new sign includes updated maps with more colour and information, which in part appear to be an effort to emphasize that only some sections would change while others would be preserved.

Even so, the proposal has drawn significant opposition from some residents since it first became apparent last month. A petition has circulated while the city’s mayor has urged residents to send in feedback, stressing that council can’t consider views it does not hear.

After the feedback period closes, city administrators will put together a report based on what was heard. That will be shared with council later this summer.

“Then council will decide, do we still want to proceed? Do we not want to proceed, based off of all of that information that we have in front of us?” Mayor Ben Hendriksen told Cabin Radio last month.

For now, he said, “it’s a process, a conversation.”

“I know sometimes people can feel like, what’s the point? There’s always a point in my mind. If we don’t hear it, we can’t consider it. So if you want us to know your views on something, then people do need to feed into that process.”

The new sign carries information about a future public hearing.

“A public hearing will be held, and notice of the date and time will be provided to neighbours within 60 metres, to those who submitted comments, and will also be posted on the subject property,” the sign states.

“The Planning Report, which will include a summary of public comments, will be available online as part of the City Council agenda. You are welcome to attend the public hearing to share your comments directly with Council.”