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Proposed land swap on Scotsman's Hill being called a win-win deal

An unidentified landowner is hoping to play "let's make a deal" with the City of Calgary with an unusual land swap.

By giving up small park space, city could gain control of natural area and land under a river pathway

Scott Dippel · CBC News ·
two houses sit atop a snowy hill. the photo is shot from below in a parking lot
The land to the right of the white house would be part of a proposed swap. The city would get a 3,800-square-foot parcel of land extending down the escarpment all the way to the Elbow river. (Rebecca Kelly/CBC)

An unidentified landowner is hoping to play "let's make a deal" with the City of Calgary with an unusual land swap.

The homeowner is asking the city to give up a 1,979-square-foot rectangle of land by a skyline viewpoint on Scotsman's Hill, east of Stampede Park. 

In exchange, the city would get a 3,800-square-foot parcel of land behind the house, a parcel that extends down the escarpment all the way to the Elbow River.

In a little known quirk, an existing city pathway beside the river runs across the privately owned land. 

It's one of three Scotsman's Hill properties that extend down the hill to the river.

Councillor backs deal

The area councillor, Gian-Carlo Carra, said the proposed land swap looks like a win-win deal to him.

It would bring the natural area on the hillside into city control and public ownership of the riverbank.

a map of calgary with boundaries highlighted in different colours. a red block of land and a blue block of land are highlighted with arrows pointing between the two
This image, from the City of Calgary, shows the land swap. What's proposed is the city gives up the area in blue, which would be added to the house property with the green border. In exchange, the city gets the bigger area in red, which extends down the escarpment to the river. (City of Calgary)

He pointed to the aftermath of the 2013 flood and how private ownership of that piece of riverbank meant the city couldn't do upgrades at the water's edge.

But the genesis of the land swap wasn't actually the city's idea.

"The owner approached the city and said: 'Hey, I've got a weird situation here and maybe we can come to a mutual accommodation that works for everybody,'" said Carra.

2-for-1 swap

The councillor likes the idea that Calgarians get nearly twice as much land as is being proposed the city gives up.

It also allows the landowner to build a bigger dwelling or subdivide the expanded property, which Carra said will mean more property tax revenue.

"We're losing a thin sliver of land we won't even notice at the top of the hill and getting more people living up there and getting more tax base," said Carra. "I honestly think everyone wins here."

City administration said the land swap will not affect the viewpoint at the top of the hill, which is popular with visitors.

The city is advertising the proposed land swap and it's open for public comment until March 20.

Closing the deal is expected to take several months to complete due to the required subdivision and land use applications that are required.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott Dippel

Politics Reporter

Scott Dippel has worked for CBC News in a number of roles in several provinces. He's been a legislative reporter, a news reader, an assignment editor and a national reporter. When not at Calgary's city hall, it's still all politics, all the time.

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