Developer proposes smaller lot sizes for new development

If a developer in Langdon gets what it is proposing, a new area of the hamlet will be a bit different than what you would expect in this community.
Qualico Communities has a proposal for the Painted Sky Development where the lots will be much smaller than the standard Langdon was built on decades ago.
The proposal has passed first reading at Rocky View Council, despite the objections of Langdon’s representative Rolly Ashdown, who feels the main draw for people to the hamlet is that you can get more land for a better price than you can bigger centres such as Calgary.
“People move to Langdon because they like the big lots,” Ashdown said. “If you live in Langdon, you have an 8,500 square foot lot. In the city of Calgary, you have around a 5,000 square foot lot.
“A normal person coming out of Calgary on a 35 foot lot front would think it’s a big lot. But here it’s not. It’s about two thirds of what everybody has. It’s not a huge lot unless it’s really deep. You don’t make them crazy deep, but our lots are deeper than most places.
“They are calling 6,900 square foot lots huge lots but they are not. They are normal.”
The proposal for the Painted Sky would have 80 per cent of the lots between 4,370 square feet and 6,900 square feet, while 10 per cent will be between 3,450 square feet and 4,370.
Five per cent will be between 2,875 and 3,335 square feet, while another five per cent will be 2,300 to 2,760.
As a comparison, the majority of the lots in the Boulder Creek area are 8,500 square feet, and when Langdon was conceived they went on a 9,999 square feet base.
Ashdown says there wasn’t much outcry at council that this new development would have smaller lots. But what he hears from residents is a larger lot was the No. 1 thing why they moved out to the area.
Of course, if this is approved, the regular Langdon house will look better in comparison to the new ones, which may be why residents aren’t objecting.
Plus, Ashdown says all the numbers can get confusing.
“If it came down to a simple question: Do you want big lots or small lots, people would have a clear understanding,” Ashdown said. “People don’t know what they are describing.”
Another development from Rocky View Council is that they approved the $3.8 million to develop the land that will be used for a new high school and sports fields, including four ball diamonds.
Ashdown hopes the ball field will be ready for next year, while the school board is waiting on approval for the new field.