The City of Lethbridge held an open house on Thursday night to showcase the Westminster Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP), a project that’s been in the works since 2016.
The process included a 12-person advisory committee, made up of Westminster residents.
“What we’ve heard is actually in the policies today,” said City of Lethbridge community planner Genesis Hevia Orio.
“It’s been an extremely collaborative process, where their feedback has directly impacted the policies today.”
Thursday night was a chance for more collaboration, as the general public was invited to examine the ARP, and interact with city staff as well as advisory committee members.
“The public will be able to hear from peers that have been part of the process, but also experts, the planning department,” said Hevia Orio.
Kristina Larkin has lived in the neighbourhood for eight years, and got involved with the project more than two years ago when the call went out for community members.
Larkin said that while crime has been a persistent issue in the area — with many fellow residents getting frustrated — redevelopment can help spur revitalization.
“I think good design promotes safe neighbourhoods,” Larkin said.
“I think the Westminster Area Redevelopment Plan is to help us build a community where crime is reduced, where neighbours are connected and where we can protect one another.”
But some in attendance Thursday were not quite as optimistic.
Martin Dixon, a resident of the neighbourhood since 1975, said he believes the biggest issue in Westminster is an overabundance of renters in multi-family homes.
“We’ve got an acute need for support of all kinds of stuff from the city,” Dixon said, “but one of the things that we certainly don’t need is to move more houses in. We want more single-family houses.”
Dixon believes Westminster can be restored to its former glory, but doesn’t agree with the ARP proposal to maximize spaces that can support higher density.
The city’s redevelopment plan supports secondary suites and duplexes, but only on corner parcels of land.
“We have separated the neighbourhood into different sub-areas, and within each we recommend where higher density is supported,” said Hevia Orio.
The ARP also includes new strategies for transportation in the area, with a focus on two busy Lethbridge corridors.
City officials will continue to take feedback. The full Westminster Area Redevelopment Plan is available on the city’s website.
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