Are there too many town homes in Airdrie?

Multi-family developments are affordable alternatives to single-family homes.  Easy to keep up, lower taxes and lower purchase prices overall make a town home or attached home an excellent purchase as a first-time home or first home out of an apartment.  However, a councillor in Airdrie thinks the city has too much of a good thing.

Allan Hunter is on the Municipal Planning Commission in Airdrie and according to the Airdrie Echo, he has voted against quite a few applications from multi-family home developers because of several concerns that he has.

Hunter commented that more consideration needs to be given to the impact these projects will have on the community at large before Airdrie council gives the green light.   While townhome development may make the most efficient use of the land, there could be some intangible social costs associated with these homes in the future.  He used the phrase “stack ‘em and pack ‘em “, referring to the density of these developments.

That also includes traffic issues and parking which rank very high on the complaint list from residents to their condo association boards.

Residential densities in Airdrie are 8 to 10 units per acre, as mandated by the Calgary Regional Partnership which the city is a member of.   These targets might not be appropriate for Airdrie says Hunter, who regularly hears complaints related to living in overcrowded conditions.

Town Homes on the Market in Airdrie

In this current market, single-family detached homes have held their value, give or take either way.  However, attached housing has fallen by almost 7% and at the current time, there are just too many town homes – resale and new construction – on the market and not enough buyers.  Generally speaking, a town home owner is often a first-time buyer and being at the lower end of the market, they can’t afford to absorb a loss if they have to sell.

This month in Airdrie there is a nine-month supply of attached homes, including condos, but only three-month’s worth of single-family home inventory which is more normal figure.  Attached homes account for 45% of the current listings in Airdrie and there are more new-construction units due to be released to the public.

At the presents, the City of Airdrie is split the following way:  70% single-family detached homes, 17% attached town homes, 6% apartment condos, 5% semi-detached and 2% manufactured homes.

Unless the consumer is demanding more multi-family projects and more affordable condos and townhomes in Airdrie, which it would appear is not the case, the call now is for council to seriously consider every development application that comes through City Hall and create a more focused plan.

Each application should be looked at in terms of the location.  Is there enough infrastructure in place and are there schools at the ready.  What are accommodations for parking and green space within the framework of applications.

Last year, Airdrie council entertained 1,422 building applications.  About 37% were for single-family homes, 34% were for town homes, 21% were for apartment condos and 8% were for duplexes.  Interestly enough, six years ago in 2010 there were no building permits issued for multi-family projects at all.