Zoning Review
Evaluating where and how Camrose's zoning decisions are failing the city, specifically with a focus on food deserts, zones of poverty, and high cost of living, and what needs to be done to fix them.
The Problem
The problem is that this City has been zoned for profit, specifically for property development companies and the people who sell the homes they build. That means that, for decades, Camrose has zoned for nothing but low-density residential properties. There has not been a single lot of new commercial development zoned over the course of my lifetime - in fact, since I was born, Camrose has built the Park Ridge neighbourhood, the Valleyview neighbourhood, the Westpark neighbourhood, the Southwest Meadows neighbourhood, the Duggan Park neighbourhood, and the Cascades neighbourhood.
Not a single new commercial zone has been developed off the highway since I was born in 1998, and that trend started much earlier than that. If you live in any of the above-mentioned neighbourhoods as well as Victoria Park, Poplar Grove, Fairview, Rosedale, or Stony Ridge, there are literally zero commercial properties in your neighbourhood. On top of that, Marler and Sparling have exactly 1 each - Marler Mini Mart and Tabb Lanes Bowling Alley, respectively. Rosebud is zoned for 1, but that property is currently a church. This zoning policy has strangled local businesses, caused skyrocketing cost of living, and created what are called "Food deserts".
A food desert is anywhere where residents, particularly low-income residents, live more than 500 meters from a full-service grocery store. Even if you doubled that range to 1 kilometre, that still leaves most Camrosians in a food desert. Think about how long it would take you to walk to the nearest grocery store from your home. For me, the closest one is the Co-op, and that would be nearly half an hour both ways - and that's a pretty normal story for the overwhelming majority of Camrosians. Driving is not an option for a lot of people, and without public transit, essentials like groceries, medication, and more become either entirely inaccessible or significantly more expensive and less accessible.
The Cause
The cause is pretty simple: the City of Camrose, for several generations, has refused to adhere to basic principles of urban development. Instead, they've chosen to do what will make a select few people very wealthy, while the rest of us pay for their poor decisions. Zoning policy is one of the most boring and seemingly invisible elements of municipal governance, but once you see it, you can't unsee it. Every time you *have* to drive to get groceries, every time you *have* to drive to get to work, and every time you think "It would be cool if I could just walk somewhere and pick something up", you're feeling the impact of these poor decisions.
The fact that you objectively have to own a car in Camrose (or else pay through the nose for cab fare) to access the City is a testament to this reality. And I'm not saying owning a car is bad - far from it. What I am saying is that, for the overwhelming majority of Camrosians, if you want to go somewhere that isn't a neighbour's house, you will have to drive there. Whether that's groceries, whether that's medication, whether that's coffee, it's all the same. There is exactly one single commercial property south of the highway where you can buy groceries, and that's Marler Mini Mart. There's literally nowhere to buy groceries north of the train tracks, as well as no gas stations or anything else - same is true of every single neighbourhood on the outside of the ring road, too.
The cause of this problem is shortsightedness and ignorance - but the solution can include innovation and sustainable growth, if we play our cards right.
My Proposal
My proposal would be for an in-depth (and long overdue) review of the City's current zoning policies, factoring in elements including access to goods and services as well as jobs and opportunities. The goal isn't to eliminate the commercial zoning on the highway - it's to allow niche commercial development to flourish throughout the City, giving our neighbourhoods the opportunity to develop a unique flavour and character in a way that creates jobs and improves accessibility. I want there to be corner stores and gas stations and community-focused local businesses that aren't forced into Main Street and then choked out by Walmart - we need choices, and we need accessibility.
The goal of this review would be integration, not eminent domain; we can't just start bulldozing properties or trying to fit square pegs into round holes. We need to work with communities to determine what they need and how best those needs can be met, and that includes working with the existing property layouts in a way that's as minimally invasive as possible to ensure that these new zoning opportunities are solid investments for both the community and the local entrepreneurs we want to see more of.
This proposal would also include a moratorium on zoning for new low-density residential properties as well as a renewed investment from the City in mid- to high-density housing - particularly public housing (if you want to learn more about why this is, you can check it out at wyatttanton.com/policies-1/affordable-housing)
The Outcome
More jobs in our communities - not just the highways. There are some businesses that are well-suited to that kind of location, such as big box stores and fast food businesses, and that's excellent - we want to make sure that everyone is getting the best they can. However, by taking this approach, it means that we can get neighbourhoods working together and building together in a way that helps us maintain our communities and build pride in our City. It means that local entrepreneurs will have the chance to be bold with their decisions around location, and can allow for niche businesses to pop up to meet the unique needs of a neighbourhood in the way that our current model simply can't. It also means that, if more commercial activity can happen locally, we can actually improve property values alongside improving accessibility for residents, particularly seniors and disabled Camrosians.
The outcome is lower cost of living as well - if you don't have to drive as much, you don't have to burn as much cash on gas, and if you can get a job close enough to walk to work then that's even better. This allows us to make Camrose a better place, increasing competition for businesses while giving them more opportunities to carve out a niche for themselves, and reducing costs for everyone involved - what's not to love?