Some seniors living in a west Edmonton retirement community are asking property developers and the city to rethink a plan to turn green space into more housing. This, as the city looks to increase housing to meet a growing population.  

“The area is small. It looks big, it looks large there, but we need so many other things there besides 41 villas,” said Jo Shostak, a West End retirement community resident.

Shostak lives in this retirement community in west Edmonton, her and other seniors in the neighbourhood are calling on the city and the owners of her retirement community to scrap a proposed housing development allowed under the City of Edmonton’s district planning policy, which passed last year at city hall allowing more density and mixed-used developments in edmonton neighbourhoods. 

Shostack told CityNews the people who live there have concerns about traffic congestion and safety, as well as potentially losing green space.

“Seniors need green space. People are walking all the time around here, grandchildren playing ball out here with grandma, there’s a lot of dogs here,” Shostack explained.

City administration wants council to approve the development, saying it aligns with city goals on adding housing density to existing neighbourhoods. 

But with multitudes of different rezoning proposals all over Edmonton on the agenda Wednesday, councillors are not even getting to this proposal. That discussion will happen in June. 

CityNews reached out to the councillor for the area, Sarah Hamilton, for her response, however, she declined to comment to CityNews. 

Touchmark Senior Living, which owns the retirement community and the land, has not provided a comment at this time.