Guest Post: Bankview Direct Control Heritage Area
Written by Alastair Pollock for Heritage Planning, The City of Calgary
Context photo of the subject area: 1500 Block of 25 Avenue SW, Bankview.
On April 9, City Council approved Calgary’s first Direct Control Heritage Area for a block of historic properties along 25 Avenue SW in Bankview. This approval was the culmination of a multi-year pilot to develop a new Land Use District (zoning) tool for heritage-rich areas, with support and collaboration of the impacted property owners. The approved Direct Control Heritage Area is designed to help conserve the collective heritage value of the entire block, while supporting other existing conservation tools such as site-specific Municipal Historic Resource designation.
The Bankview pilot project will serve as a template for future use of this tool in Calgary. In this guest post, City Heritage Planning is pleased to share additional information about the development and impacts of this exciting new tool.
Background
The Direct Control Heritage Area is one of three linked Heritage Area Tools supported by Council through a larger 2020 report on new heritage tools and incentives for Calgary. Together, the Heritage Area Tools represent the first comprehensive approach to area-based heritage conservation in our city, complimenting an existing City Heritage program oriented towards negotiated protection and management of individual sites listed on the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources by Heritage Calgary. If you’re unfamiliar with these new Heritage Area Tools, including how concentrated heritage areas were identified through surveying pre-1945 “heritage assets”, you can find full information and background on calgary.ca/heritagetools.
Direct Control as a Heritage Conservation Tool
Although the Direct Control Heritage Area is a new tool for Calgary, The City has previously investigated Direct Control zoning for a variety of heritage conservation purposes – including Density Transfer, and a limited incentive district in Bridgeland. However, the closest precedent and reference for Calgary’s Direct Control Heritage Area is Edmonton’s DC-1 conservation districts, including the Westmount Architectural Control Area.
As a zoning tool, Direct Controls cannot include direct legal protection for a heritage resource (unlike designation). Instead, zoning establishes rules for any new development on a site, including the form, location and appearance of buildings, and allowable activities on-site. By adjusting these rules, Direct Control Heritage Areas support heritage conservation in the following ways:
If a heritage asset is demolished within the district, infill housing is required to have a compatible form and appearance – mitigating loss of the area’s overall heritage value.
The maximum size and proportions of new development can be aligned with historic buildings, removing incentive to demolish heritage assets.
Specific new incentives can be created to make retaining a heritage asset more valuable, including additional Uses, or specific development flexibilities.
Alongside the heritage area benefits, the predictable development outcomes are more supportive of individual property designation. Qualifying properties that choose to designate have assurance of the future adjacent context.
Plan view drawings showing the impacts of two development rules: required building setbacks (left) and parcel coverage (right). These elements help determine the location and maximum floor area of buildings.
Elevation drawings showing the impact of maximum height.
As the most specific and restrictive Heritage Area Tool, Direct Control Heritage Areas can be applied to locations with the highest concentrations of heritage assets in Calgary. In terms of district size, Direct Control Heritage Areas are designed to be a minimum of one side of a city block, where 50% or more of all homes qualify as heritage assets. For larger blocks or unique areas, a minimum of five adjacent heritage assets may also be eligible. The City requires full written support of all property owners to initiate a Direct Control Heritage Area (heritage and otherwise). In alignment with the Municipal Development Plan, Direct Control Heritage Areas are intended to be compatible other planning and city-building objectives, and do not limit density (number of dwelling units) or flexibility of housing choice (allowing both Single and Semi-Detached structures).
Bankview Pilot Project
The pilot project location was chosen following a multi-community review and engagement process. The 1500 Block of 25 Avenue SW emerged as an ideal site due to the heritage integrity, small number of total properties, extent of property owner support, and a variety of unique sites factors. All properties facing 25 Avenue qualify as heritage assets, making the block a continuous historic streetscape (during the pilot project, three of the properties were also listed on the Inventory by Heritage Calgary – the Magarrell Residence, Doberer Residence, and Colborne Residence). As shown in the reference diagram, two additional properties facing adjoining streets also qualify as heritage assets, however the owners chose not to participate in the pilot. The block is laneless, with limited parking options for most properties. Property size also varies significantly, including a highly unique property in 1505 25 Avenue SW which has frontage on both 25 Avenue and 14A Street SW.
Plan view diagram, showing the heritage assets along 25 Avenue SW (green), as well as two adjacent assets not included in the final Direct Control (yellow).
Working with property owners, The City identified character-defining elements of this block which establish compatibility measures for new development. These include the overall height and horizontal alignment of houses (called “streetwall height”), the inclusion of two distinct historic housing styles (Edwardian Gable-Front and Victorian Revival), roof forms and pitches, the spacing and pattern of houses, the prominence of front porches (open and enclosed), and architectural details like cladding materials and window styles.
The specific bylaw rules were developed and refined through multiple project phases and engagement sessions with property owners. Internal and external review of the district was also performed, including testing of possible development scenarios by Vera Architecture Inc., who also assessed the general “user-friendliness” of the document from a development industry perspective. The final approved Direct Control Heritage Area contains a wide variety of custom rules to help ensure new development compatibility, but select highlights include:
Building Height
Building height in the Direct Control uses specified maximums (expressed in geodetic measurement) instead of the contextual height rules applied to standard development. A maximum height, and ranges of acceptable heights for the main floor and porch roofline are exactly specified, which correspond to the heritage assets.
Elevation drawing showing previously-allowable potential development, prior to approval of the Direct Control. Standard Land Use Bylaw rules permit a maximum height and streetwall heights that are not considered compatible with the overall block.
Illustrations from Schedule C of Bylaw 111D2024, showing allowable heights for building elements.
Building Form
A major challenge in developing the Direct Control was allowing for both Single and Semi-Detached housing while maintaining the historic pattern and spacing of heritage assets.
To resolve this, the Direct Control defines two required front-facing elements for any infill development, to approximate the building width of heritage assets and ensure a similar front porch feature is provided. These elements are required for each infill unit (excepting suites), so a consistent appearance is maintained at street level even if Semi-Detached housing is introduced to the block.
3D Illustration showing the required “front building volume” (orange) and “front projection” (blue) for each development. The required type and proportions of these elements vary between Site 1 (Victorian Revival heritage assets) and Site 2 (Edwardian Gable-front heritage assets) in the Direct Control.
Plan view and elevation drawings from Schedule D of Bylaw 111D2024, showing examples of how the required “front building volume” and “front projection” could be configured in a variety of new developments.
Unique Incentives
In addition to the increased regulation on new development, the Bankview Direct Control Heritage Area provides a variety of benefits to property owners to support retaining the existing heritage assets, including removal of parking minimums, reduced barriers for minor developments, and additional allowance for accessory suites.
Rendering of a potential infill development in the Bankview Direct Control Heritage Area, created during external testing, including new garage (accessed via existing driveway) and a Backyard Suite. (Vera Architecture Inc.)
Monitoring and Next Steps
With the Bylaw approved by Council, The City will monitor the Bankview Direct Control Heritage Area on an ongoing basis. While many of the Bylaw rules can only be fully examined in the unfortunate case that a heritage asset is demolished, applications for minor heritage-supportive developments (ex. additions, accessory suites) may indicate the effectiveness of these incentives. In terms of encouraging heritage designation, outcomes from the pilot project suggests early success for the tool – with designation interest expressed by multiple property owners, and a formal request to designate received from one eligible property.
In expanding from the initial pilot phase, The City is now exploring a community-led request process for future Direct Control Heritage Areas, which is currently open to properties within the boundaries of the North Hill Communities Local Area Plan, Riley Communities Local Area Plan and West Elbow Local Area Plan. Additional information is available online, including a template request form and FAQ document.
In collaborating to create Calgary’s first Direct Control Heritage Area, The City recognizes the time, energy and commitment of the impacted property owners, the contributions from Vera Architecture Inc., as well as the support of Heritage Calgary, the Bankview Community Association, and the Office of Ward 8.