FAQs

School boards regularly review their need for vacant school sites, and if a site is not needed for a future school, it will be declared surplus and released to the City. Many communities have not achieved the populations anticipated when neighbourhood plans were first designed.  In many cases, their numbers peaked below planned levels and started to decline. As a result, building sites set aside for schools to meet those planned population levels were not developed and were later declared surplus by school boards.

An internal City review of this site was carried out to determine if there was a municipal use for the site. Following the review, it was determined that there was no municipal need for the site and it was declared surplus to City needs. The City believes that repurposing undeveloped, surplus building sites makes the best and most innovative use of available land to offer greater housing choices to everyone, creating more sustainable communities and better meeting the City’s changing needs.

Development will be located on the vacant building site only. Access to the remaining open space will be no different than if the planned school had been constructed. 

All surplus school sites within City inventory are reviewed for development potential and several other sites have already been developed or will be considered in the future. Two other surplus school sites, in Ozerna and Klarvatten, are currently being proposed for medium density residential development following this same process.

No, the existing soccer field is classified as temporary, as it is located on a designated school building site, and will not be replaced once the site is sold and subsequently developed.

The existing roadway network in the neighbourhood was designed to accommodate traffic levels generated from the operation of a public elementary school, which generates a higher traffic volume than a residential development. If the selected zoning is determined to potentially increase the level of service of adjacent roadways, a Traffic Impact Assessment may be required to determine overall impacts and mitigation measures.

The Realtors Association of Edmonton has stated: “There are frequent claims from local residents that the addition of various facilities, amenities, businesses, or alternative housing types in their community will have a negative effect on the value of property in the community.  Overwhelming evidence from studies in Canada and the U.S., indicates that the assumption that house prices will fall is false.”

Services for a future school were installed while the road was being constructed, so the infrastructure already exists and will not have to be installed. Sufficient drainage capacity is always reviewed by the City when a development is applied for and an analysis from the developer is required prior to allowing any new developments to proceed.

Approved school building sites are the default location for all development.  Possible relocation of building sites will be assessed by city staff and must be financially and technically feasible and suitable for the approved use.  

Use of sale proceeds from a surplus school site are regulated by City Policy C468A and are credited to the Funds in Lieu Reserve Account, to be used in the same geographic area.

City Administration is recommending medium density residential uses for surplus school sites because they take into account a number of different considerations, including:

• The neighbourhood’s current housing mix, density, and tenure relative to City-wide averages.

• The density relative to density targets for the Capital Region as a whole and Edmonton’s Strategic plans. 

• The City is required to work to reach residential density ranges established by the Capital Region Board.

• City Council’s desire to achieve a more equitable distribution of different types of housing options across the City.

• The existing infrastructure supporting these sites. Wherever possible, the City tries to make the best use of existing infrastructure. 

Since the development boundary matches the intended school site boundary, the trees located within the development boundary were not intended to be permanent and may need to be removed as part of the site redevelopment.