January 13, 2014 Hon. Heather Klimchuk Minister of Culture 107 Legislature Building 10800 – 97th Avenue Edmonton, AB.T5K 2B6 By email: culture.minister@gov.ab.ca Dear Minister Klimchuk, Re: Elbow Park School – Calgary. The Calgary Heritage Authority (CHA), in accordance with our mandate to provide counsel on heritage resources in Calgary, would like to urgently offer comments on the Elbow Park School file and request an Historic Resource Impact Assessment be conducted on this site. As you know, the Elbow Park School is listed on The Inventory of Evaluated Heritage Resources as a City-Wide Heritage Resource. Until recently, it was widely regarded as an outstanding example of functional heritage conservation in our city, and has been a well-loved landmark for generations in its community of well-kept heritage homes and other buildings. The Calgary Board of Education has apparently made a decision to demolish this building and replace it with new construction. We are unable to support or refute this decision based on available information. Further understanding of various options and associated costs is required before the CHA is able to offer an informed opinion on the future of this important heritage asset. The degree and depth of public consultation by the Calgary Board of Education on this impending action is also unclear – the impact suffered by this community during the 2013 flooding would suggest transparent, substantial and in-depth consultation would be appropriate and necessary, given the shock and extensive re-building process facing many homeowners there.

January 13, 2014 Hon. Heather Klimchuk Page 2 Continued Other demolition files of this magnitude in Calgary have included requests to the building owners to conduct a Historic Resource Impact Assessment (HRIA). The CHA feels that the integrity of this process will be compromised if the Province exempts the Elbow Park file from the HRIA process. Given the profile of the ongoing flood conversations in our province, the Elbow Park School is a golden opportunity for the Calgary Board of Education and the Province of Alberta to be seen doing the right thing with a public, logical and fact-based due diligence process. Anything else will set an unfortunate and potentially harmful precedent and optics in giving publicly-funded institutions the ability to by-pass due process when it is convenient and expedient to do so. Accordingly, the CHA is formally requesting that an HRIA be completed on the Elbow Park School and that the report include restoration options and associated costs. Thank you for your consideration of this matter. We look forward to further discussion about the future of this significant and high-profile heritage building. Yours truly,

Scott M. Jolliffe Chair Calgary Heritage Authority 403.519.9892 scottjolliffe@shaw.ca cc. Matthew Wangler, Executive Director, Historic Resources Management, Alberta Culture Rollin Stanley, General Manager of Planning, Development and Assessment, City of Calgary Matthias Tita, Director of Land Use Planning and Policy, City of Calgary David Down, Coordinator of Urban Design and Heritage, City of Calgary Darryl Cariou, Senior Heritage Planner, City of Calgary