About 70 business people attended a forum, hosted by the City of Airdrie, to gain input on the formation of a new land use bylaw (LUB) and municipal development plan (MDP), now underway.
During the presentation, which took place in the Rotary Room at Genesis Place on June 7, City staff asked for feedback on several questions such as what impacts the recent annexation of 12,640 acres will have on businesses, whether Airdrie should move to more focuses non-residential zones and how important is it that the new bylaw is user friendly.
“We are in unprecedented times for this city, we’ve never annexed this kind of land before,” said Mayor Peter Brown.
“If we are not doing what we need to be doing, we need to hear from you guys. The City is open for business, and we need your help.”
Airdrie has grown at an average of about eight per cent over the last years. In 2002, the population was 21,979, a number that swelled to 43,155 in 2011. Last year, there was $187 million worth of residential buildings constructed and almost $72 million in commercial/industrial construction.
According to Kent Rupert, Airdrie economic development’s team lead, on average there are between 35 and 42 new business licences given out each month in Airdrie.
“Overall, the Airdrie economy is pretty strong,” said Rupert, adding the annexation offers an opportunity to attract a number of new businesses including service, environmental industries and transportation and logistics companies.
City planner Naren Garg said the annexation was the largest in Alberta outside of Calgary and Edmonton during the last decade. It added 714 residents, 231 homes and more than 25 businesses within Airdrie’s borders.
“It is essentially agricultural land,” said Garg.
“We wanted to (plan) it once and do it well. The idea is not to start building tomorrow, but to take the next 18 to 24 months to begin the process.”
The annexation, coupled with policies that were created when Airdrie was smaller, means it is time to update the City’s regulatory and planning documents, the LUB and MDP.
The City has already begun the process and is now in phase two – when staff will collect feedback from the public and businesses and create a draft form of the documents.
The City’s goal is to have the documents completed and adopted by council in 2013.
Local realtor Matt Carre attended the forum.
“I like the fact that the City is trying to do what it can to keep us informed,” he said. “And when they do it is (business owners’) responsibility to go and find out what is going on.”
Carre added it is critical for local business people to stay aware of the future plans. He said he would like to see approval of the Community Standards Bylaw, the draft form of which appeared before council, June 4.
“That to me is one of the keys,” he said.
Garg said City staff would love to have members of the business community stay engaged in the process through future surveys, events and focus groups.
“Whenever we can engage our business community in any of our processes, it is always really important,” said Rupert. “We build this community with the residents and the businesses and businesses invest a lot of money into the community, so we want to make sure we are setting the future direction with their needs and concerns in mind.”
“To have an overhaul for where… council wants to go and where the administration wants to go, it is always exciting, because it will just streamline the process and make everything that much smoother, which overall affects the whole business environment.”
