New southwest Edmonton neighbourhoods given names after debate between city, developer

EDMONTON — Three new neighbourhoods to be built in the city’s deep southwest, near 199 Street and 23 Avenue, now have names after an interesting debate at city hall.

Proposed names for the neighbourhoods were brought to the city’s Executive Committee Tuesday after a disagreement between the developer of the area and the city’s naming committee.

Stantec Consulting – who represented Qualico Communities, Walton Development, Sunwapta Holdings, and Mattamy Homes in the matter – submitted five names in October 2014 that it wanted to use for the Riverview neighbourhood.

Among the names: The Uplands, Red Willow and River’s Edge. In August 2015, the city’s naming committee came back with a decision, instead approving the names Balsam Woods, Golden Willow and River Alder.

In its appeal filed in September, Stantec said it submitted its choices “with the intention of naming each neighbourhood to best reflect the local geography and natural features within the immediate area.”

The appeal letter explained how The Uplands name referred to the area of highest elevation in Riverview, directly across from the existing Edgemont neighbourhood. The second proposed name, Red Willow, referred to the abundance of the plant species present in the area. The third name, River’s Edge, was chosen because the North Saskatchewan River borders the eastern edge of the neighbourhood.

In its decision, the naming committee said its alternative choices reflects the tree species and natural features found within the Riverview area. Stantec said it also received feedback “suggesting that the names were not supported due to the lack of a specific theme.”

After much debate, including conversation around whether or not to include an apostrophe in the name “Rivers Edge,” Executive Committee decided to go with The Uplands, Rivers Edge and Stillswater for the neighbourhood names.

The seven-member naming committee selects the official names for municipal facilities, new neighbourhoods, parks and roads. Their job is to pick ones that reflect the city’s environment and history.

*Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Monday, March 21, 2016. It was updated at 11:37 a.m. MT Tuesday to include the decision on the names. 

With files from Caley Ramsay, Global News.