Despite plenty of opposition from area residents, Airdrie City council approved the first two of three readings for a bylaw to adopt the East Points Community Area Structure Plan (CASP) at a virtual public hearing Sept. 8.
The public hearing and ensuing discussion lasted more than two hours before council voted 6-1 in favour of first and second reading. The East Points CASP will now advance to the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) for further review before returning to council for third reading.
Coun. Tina Petrow was the sole councillor opposed to the bylaw. She said she felt the City had gone “backwards” after adjusting the CASP in early 2020.
“After seeing how the plan has evolved, I think the success of this plan up until now has been the back-and-forth dialogue and the give-and-take from all parties,” she said. “I don’t think this last rendition supports that process.”
The East Points CASP is the land use concept for the future subdivision and development of a primarily industrial area in northeast Airdrie. The area encompasses approximately 960 acres and is located east of the Gateway and East Lake industrial developments and south of Croxford Estates, with Yankee Valley Estates at its southern boundary.
“The East Points CASP is a City-initiated and City-funded project,” said planner Gail Gibeau. “The City does not own any of the lands contained within the plan area. However, the City saw it as an important community project and has sought to take the project on.”
According to Gibeau, limited servicing means any development of the lands is unlikely to occur for more than 20 years.
Still, many area residents voiced concerns about the development's potential impacts on their neighbourhood. The CASP was previously the subject of a public hearing Jan. 20 when many residents of Yankee Valley Estates spoke out about changes to the plan. At the January public hearing, Council ultimately voted unanimously to table the item until further consultation could be done and staff could look into various issues raised by landowners.
With the CASP back on the agenda Sept. 8, many of the same residents submitted letters expressing their disapproval, citing potential water contamination, property value decreases, increased noise and traffic, reductions in green space and residential land allocation and an increase in land set aside for industrial usage.
Resident Gordon Lee said he was concerned about environmental impacts in the southwest quarter of the lands, which contain glacial erratic boulders. The boulders were designated a provincial historic resource, and Lee argued they warranted a historic resource impact assessment designation and an environmental study.
Lee also expressed concerns the latest revisions to the CASP have “undone the progressive achievements previously addressed” by residents.
“Specifically, residential development has been significantly reduced, exposing Yankee Valley Estates closer to industrial development,” he said. “The major truck route has been moved closer to Yankee Valley Estates, park land and Municipal Reserve has been significantly reduced and significant heavy industrial use has been added, which is now closer to Yankee Valley Estates.”
Residents also claimed the public consultation for the CASP was insufficient and that council was trying to appease the City’s Chief Administrative Officer Paul Schulz, who had provided last-minute input at the January public hearing.
Council’s discussion centred on the fact that CASPs are an early stage of the development process, and further public consultation would occur if and when the plan progresses to the Neighbourhood Structure Plan (NSP) stage.
“What we have to remember is that we’re at the CASP level right now, which is really a 10,000-foot view of what it could look like – 'could' being the operative word here,” Coun. Darrell Belyk said.
“Right now, residents are asking us to look into a crystal ball and make the absolute decision, and that’s not going to happen tonight.”
Mayor Peter Brown said council’s decision had to balance the discontent of residents with the needs of the City as a whole to expand its non-residential tax base.
“Our intent is always to do what’s in the best interest of the majority of residents who live here,” he said. “That’s not always received if you’re in the minority, but when you sit in this seat, that’s our objective – to hopefully address those issues that are most important to the majority of our community, and one of them is jobs.”
Following the meeting, resident Duane Ellingson, who submitted a letter to the public hearing, told the Airdrie City View he and others in Yankee Valley Estates were frustrated by staff’s decision to ignore residents’ feedback from the previous public hearing.
“This heavy industrial proposition they’re putting forward is something they’ve created in their minds which is necessary, but we find there’s a general lack of support for it,” he said. “We’re pretty concerned that residents of Airdrie are probably not familiar with the fact they’re planning on making this into a heavy industrial area and have pollution and smokestacks. It’s not a desirable use and it’s not something most cities strive for.”
He said residents were also frustrated by council’s discussion.
“One councillor was saying ‘You were at the Jan. 20 meeting and you didn’t like that, so we changed it, so you should like this new option,’” he said. “It was like getting slapped in the face a second time. It was just completely illogical, and they didn’t seem to have a basic understanding of what the aspects of the plan were, so that was very disturbing to us.
“It was disturbing to see council take such a light view of how they should approach this.”
If CMRB approves the bylaw, council will vote on third reading at a future meeting. If the bylaw is ratified, the East Points development would continue on to the NSP stage, where more in-depth details would emerge.
Ellingson said residents of Yankee Valley Estates – who have started referring to themselves as the East Points Community Association – will continue to advocate against the most recent plans.
He added the group is not opposed to development but is opposed to "irrational development."
"We’re looking for more of a plan concept that has gradual buffer zones and responsible development,” he said.
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
