The City of Grande Prairie adopted a new land use bylaw last fall, but local developers are already experiencing problems with meeting new landscaping and parking standards.
Dan Wong is a municipal engineer who says one issue he’s come across is an exponential increase in the requirement for landscaping.
“As someone who lives in the city, I want to see more trees in the city because it does look a little bit barren, however you want to make sure that you’re increasing to the right amount, and the right amount means more, but maybe not to the extent that the land use bylaw has it now.”
As an example, he says a standard residential lot is required to have one tree on it, but if it’s turned into multi-family housing, it could need four to six.
Another issue is that requiring trees and shrubs on all parking islands doesn’t leave much room for light standards or hydrants.
Shrubs can also die after a couple winters, and can get in the way of vehicle sight lines.
City staff will be looking at Wong’s suggestions and coming back with recommendations of their own.
