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(1) Overview
(1) Overview
The development style of the Pineview neighbourhood matches the development style of newer neighbourhoods with the location of high density dwellings in proximity to businesses and medium density duplexes blending into low density single family detached home neighbourhoods.
The Land Use Bylaw intent is to preserve and respect the character of Pineview in the future which would mean sensitive land use options such as basement suites, backyard dwellings, garage dwellings and duplexes that don't overwhelm the height of adjacent homes and blend into the neighbourhood. A 2 story home is 6 to 7.6 metres high. This should be set as the max height for future development to preserve the character on Pineview.
Pineview has two large high density areas consisting of an apartment complex and condo complex which are spread across two blocks.
Like other neighbourhoods the high density apartments are not located beside low density single family homes.
The high density area in Pineview is a consistent development pattern as seen in the newly developed neighbourhoods such as Westpark in which the high density area is located on the edge of the neighbourhood.
Pineview was built centrally from east to west starting in the 1970's and continued north and east into the 1980's and completed in the mid 1990's.
The housing styles reflect over two decades of development with various dwelling types available to fit the needs of all residents such as apartment complexes, condo complexes, bungalows, two story homes, single story duplexes, two story duplexes, split levels and bi-levels.
There are 4 schools, 8 parks and many recreation amenities located in the central parks of Pineview. There is a green belt encircling the neighbourhood.
All amenities and services are centrally located throughout Pineview and are all walkable or cycle from each part of the neighbourhood.
An extensive network of neighbourhood shortcuts are quite unique throughout Pineview where the ends of cul-de-sacs have a walkable exit and the middle of long crescents have a walkable exit at the mid way point. This makes every home in Pineview quickly accessible with a short 15 minute or less walk or cycle to all amenities and day to day service needs.
The recreation amenities in Pineview are quite extensive and suitable for all ages, from children to active agers, and are a short walkable access or cycle using the network of sidewalk grids that cut through the neighbourhoods.
The central parks in Pineview are the social gathering place for the residents with schools, recreation, parks, and playgrounds.
All homes in Pineview are walkable or cycle distance to the schools using the approximately 50 shortcut grids. This makes Pineview very desirable for families who are looking for an affordable single family detached home located anywhere in the neighbourhood.
New families can buy a single family detached home on any cul-de-sac or crescent in Pineview and have an easy, 15 minute or less, walk to schools.
The census reports were analyzed from 2007 to 2024. There was a negative population trend until 2017 but the population stabilized in 2018 with a growth in 37% to 54% of enumeration zones from 2018 to 2024 as new families are moving into the neighborhood.
Schools are currently filled to capacity in Pineview and should sustain their population as natural attrition of families moving into the neighbourhood continues to happen.
James Mowat school in Pineview is attended by Westpark and Pineview students and centrally located between east Westpark and west Pineview.
Northeast Westpark was developed 30 years ago and the population has been declining for the past 20 years in enumeration zone 801 (23% decline in population) and zone 802 (19% decline in population) between 2000 and 2024. These older neighbourhoods of Westpark are located directly adjacent to Pineview and walkable distance to James Mowat school using the Pineview shortcuts. This declining population can affect future James Mowat School attendance.
The existing residents in Pineview are noticing the new demographic changes that are occurring on their streets with new families living among seniors which is a great example of Linking Generations occurring. It is not uncommon to see neighbours helping neighbours in Pineview.
Some families moving to Pineview are from the newer neighbourhoods as they can get more bedrooms in a solidly built, well maintained, single family detached home for less price than a home in a newer neighbourhood. Families are also looking for more space between houses, larger yards, larger garages, more street parking and less street congestion.
The supply and location of day to day service needs were reviewed for Pineview residents. There are 116 businesses within a short 5 to 15 minute walking distance or faster mobility access with e-scooters or e-bikes in 3 to 8 minutes.
Unfortunately there is no secure lockup locker system or central bike depot for cyclists to prevent bike theft while shopping in the plaza. This would prevent residents from wanting to cycle and leave their expensive bike just locked to a pole.
The businesses are located in NE central Pineview and since Pineview is also centrally located in the city there are over 116 business located around the edges of Pineview that meet all the day to day shopping needs of the residents.
Pineview is the only uniquely situated neighbourhood in Fort Saskatchewan which 5 retail areas surround the neighbourhood and are servicing the day to day needs of residents with a short walk or cycle.
With the natural attrition which started to occur in 2018 with new families moving into Pineview this should provide a net population increase within one or two years.
Sensitive growth measures are probably not needed in Pineview but could enhance the natural attrition that has already started to occur with new families moving into the area.
Proactive growth could happen if the residents were informed of the modern method of hidden sensitive densification as described in the new Planners Book called "Effective Urban Densification, A guide for Professionals and the Housing Industry" Written by Barry Johns This method is a win-win for new families moving into the neighbourhood and for active agers aging in place as they equally share in the densification project.
(2) The People, The Place, The Pride
(2) The People, The Place, The Pride
The demographics in Pineview are a good mix of the older generation, established generation, and young families, who in most cases, are living on the same street. This provides a unique dynamic of Linking Generations, which creates an atmosphere where neighbours are helping neighbours.
Some of the characteristics of Pineview are the variety of homes, open spaces, space between homes, mature trees, larger private yards, larger driveways, plenty of street parking, less traffic and single family detached homes.
Families that are moving to Pineview from the newer neighbourhoods are stating that Pineview homes are more affordable for young families that need more bedrooms on the main floor and on the lower level that you can't find in newer neighbourhoods for the same price.
The character of Pineview has been preserved for over 50 years which makes the neighbourhood very desirable for families.
All Pineview homes have walkable access to centrally located parks, schools and recreation amenities with the approximate 50 shortcut sidewalk grids that interconnect the outer neighbourhoods through the inner neighbourhoods to reach the central parks and schools and amenities.
Families can buy a single family detached home anywhere in Pineview and have easy access to everything they need using these shortcuts.
The Pineview homes are well built and well maintained and this is very evident as you walk through each neighbourhood and see most homes with remodeled exteriors. These homes are solidly built, using dimensional lumber, and will last many generations.
As an example of affordability it is cheaper to replace the shingles on an old roof than pay an additional $100,000 to buy a skinny home on a skinny lot with no parking, no yard and not very walkable to amenities.
What some Pineview residents are saying:
"We were originally in Southpointe and moved to Pineview 18 months ago because of the size of the homes and lot and mature trees and less traffic."
"We just moved to Pineview from Westpark as we wanted a bigger and more private yard, some trees."
"Hard to find bungalows in new areas that can accommodate a family as the new homes only have 2 bedrooms on the main floor."
"We bought in Pineview as we were able to get 6 bedrooms in a bungalow, bigger yard, and more street parking for the same price as newer home."
"I live in Pineview and have 5 neighbours around me that have young families."
"The houses have good bones, great lot sizes and parking is so much easier."
"We bought for the bigger yard. My street has a lot of young families."
"Any newer homes that are half way affordable for a young family in new neighbourhoods are too small, can't fit a truck in the driveway or the garage. Can barely push a lawnmower between your house and neighbours."
"We raised 4 kids in our 5 bedroom bungalow. The grade level entrance and single floor living is perfect now for aging in place."
"I like how Pineview currently is. It is the whole reason I left the new development, Quiet, less traffic, mature neighbourhood, larger homes, and yards with better parking." My wife and I chose to raise 3 kids in this area for the current demographic."
"I used to live in Southfort but moved to Pineview as it has more personality. My Pineview home has a solid structure."
(3) Development Style
(3) Development Style
Pineview was built starting in the 1970's and continued into the mid 1990's and the neighbourhood style is consistent with that of newly developed neighbourhood styles today with various types of homes.
Like other newly developed neighbourhoods Pineview also has business areas, high density dwelling complexes, medium density dwellings and low density dwellings.
As you see in other new neighbourhoods, such as Westpark, Pineview has a high density dwelling area located near the businesses and not located near low density single family detached homes.
The Pineview Plaza, Riverpoint Plaza, Countryside Condos, Westlands Apartments, Families First Society Building, Lutheran Church, and Latter-day Saints Church, Shell convenience store/gas store are located together in one area, much like you see in new developments.
In new neighbourhood developments this area would be called a mixed use area. The modern buzzword for this type of area is now called a "Node".
(4) Dwelling Types
(4) Dwelling Types
The dwelling types consist of bungalows, split levels, bi-levels, single story duplexes, two story duplexes, two story homes, condos and apartments. These dwelling types provide many different options for residents looking to raise a family or for aging in place.
The bungalows in Pineview are deceiving as they have 3 to 5 bedrooms in a small layout. These homes are economical to heat and contribute less to the carbon footprint.
The neighbourhood is great for starting a family as the homes have many bedrooms and are more affordable than a newer neighbourhood. The neighbourhood is also great for aging in place as a single floor detached home is the recommended type of home for aging in place. In most cases you can stay in one home and raise a large family in a single family detached home and then age in place after they have grown.
The high density dwellings consist of a large apartment townhouse type of complex and a large condo complex located across from the business area in Pineview.
Pineview has several medium density dwellings (duplexes) and low density dwellings (single family detached homes) that blend seamlessly in the neighbourhood at various locations.
The character of the Pineview neighbourhood has been preserved and respected for over 50 years as all single family homes in Pineview are two stories or less. A typical 2 story home is 6 to 7.6 metres in height. The maximum height of future homes in Pineview should not exceed 8 metres in order to preserve the character of the neighbourhood.
(5) Parks and Schools
(5) Parks and Schools
The development of Pineview is very unique as the parks and schools are walkable 15 minutes or less or cycle from all the homes with the shortcut grids that cut through the neighbourhoods. These parks and school areas are the community gathering places.
Pineview has a large green space and 8 parks with many homes backing onto the parks or nearby to the parks and are easily accessible. Two long parks are centrally located in the neighbourhood and run east and west throughout Pineview and connected with a trail system to access all 4 schools located in the parks. Sidewalks starting at the parks radiate outwards connecting across the inner and outer neighbourhoods which makes all schools walkable from any home in Pineview.
Encircling Pineview is a continuous green space and trail loop. The outer greenspace and trail loop is also connected with a grid of shortcuts that go through the outer neighbourhood from the inner neighbourhoods.
The sidewalks connecting through the Pineview neighbourhoods are much like the spokes on a wheel connecting to the centre hub of schools and parks and the encircling green belt as the rubber on the tires.
Since all homes in Pineview are less than a 15 minute walk to schools this is what makes Pineview very popular for new families as they can buy an affordable home anywhere in Pineview and the children can get to school in the central area using the shortcut grids. This could explain why the Pineview schools are full.
(6) Community and Recreation Amenities
(6) Community and Recreation Amenities
Several community and recreation amenities are located in the central park area of Pineview and include outdoor rinks, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, tennis courts, pickleball courts, beach volleyball courts, indoor arena, basketball courts, playgrounds and cross country ski trail.
These recreation amenities are suitable for all ages and are easily accessible from all homes in Pineview using the same shortcuts through all neighbourhoods.
All homes using the same hub network of trails that radiate out from the centre of Pineview have walkable access to three fitness gym facilities with one located to the southwest, one to the south and one to the south east.
A family services organization and two churches are located in Pineview and church one on the edge of the neighbourhood.
(7) Business Amenities
(7) Business Amenities
The day to day service needs for Pineview residents are fulfilled within a walking distance from homes with approximately 116 businesses which are located in 5 locations in or around the edges of the neighbourhood.
All businesses are easily accessible by sidewalks or paved trails within a 15 minute walk or for faster mobility by e-scooter or e-bike in 3 to 8 minutes.
Two shopping plazas are located in northeast Pineview, a shopping centre on the southeast edge of the neighbourhood and a shopping plaza on the southwest edge of the neighbourhood. In addition there are 4 convenience stores are located to the west, south, south west and north east.
Pineview has all of the amenities it needs in the neighbourhood, or on the edge of the neighbourhood. This allows the community's day to day shopping service needs to be fulfilled within a short walking distance.
There are no service amenities lacking within walking distance for the residents of Pineview.
(8) Neighbourhood Access
(8) Neighbourhood Access
Pineview is centrally located and is only minutes to access Highway 21 or Highway 15. There are three main entrance roads into the neighbourhood that connect to a ring road, which serves as a collector road, for local neighbourhood roads and also serves as a connector road as Pineview is centrally located between downtown Fort Saskatchewan and Westpark.
(9) Transit
(9) Transit
The local transit route is along the ring road. The ring road encircles Pineview and is located centrally between the inner and outer neighbourhoods. This means the transit route is a very short walking distance from every home in Pineview.
(10) Population Trend - Analyzed
(10) Population Trend - Analyzed
The population explosion that occurred in Fort Saskatchewan during the industrial expansion from 1970 to 1980 averaged 8% growth per year. That population increase was unprecedented as people across Canada came west during the industrial expansion looking for jobs during several oil and gas, petrochemical, mid stream gas plants, and fertilizer world scale plants construction projects.
The population of previous years can't be used as a baseline for Pineview as a goal to predict a new target for future as the population created during the 70's was the result of 10 years of ongoing construction of world scale plants bringing an influx of workers and families and was not a typical growth rate or sustainable growth rate. The 8% average growth rate that occurred each year for 10 years was an anomaly and not the benchmark.
The census reports for the Pineview enumeration zones from 1989 to 2024 were analyzed to obtain a clearer picture of the Pineview population trend.
Here are the percentage of enumeration zones in Pineview that had growth or no decrease in population compared to the previous census report:
2018 = 54%
2019 = 37%
2023 = 37%
2024 = 49%
(11) Population Trend - Improved
(11) Population Trend - Improved
The Pineview population stabilized in 2017 and has been stable since.
(12) Population Trend - Future
(12) Population Trend - Future
Graph is showing growth each census period compared to the previous census. Pineview will start to see a positive growth starting in the 2026 census year.
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