The Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and the Downtown and Entrance Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) are two long-term policy documents that will steer the future of development in Crossfield.
Crossfield Town council approved the two major planning documents, Sept. 21.
The MDP’s purpose is to guide the Town of Crossfield council and administration in making sustainable, responsible and accountable decisions with respect to land use and development.
“The Municipal Development Plan is a required document for communities over a population threshold of 3,500 and although we are not at this number yet, we are a progressive community and are ready when the time comes,” said Deputy Mayor Jackie Vang.
“There were several drafts of both documents presented to the public, both in electronic format and through public open houses.”
The ARP is a very similar document to the MDP, except its goal is to direct the future development and redevelopment of downtown Crossfield.
Councillor Norma Lang says that the documents are a great starting point for councils for future development because they have been approved by the people of Crossfield.
“The plans will give a new council a strong position to start from, especially knowing that the documents were generated by community and have been endorsed by our residents,” Lang said.
Crossfield town planner Don Schultz says the timing of the approval of these documents could not be any better, considering the annexation that was recently approved by the province.
“The timing and sequence of events has unfolded very efficiently,” said Schultz.
“These plans are not set in stone, they can be amended by future councils. In addition to being strong policy documents, in terms of regulating growth and development, they are great economic development tools.”
Vang proposed that the Town purchase a bus for community use during the Sept. 7 regular council meeting, and asked administration to research the costs associated with it.
Vang says that a large amount of money is spent by community groups to travel outside of Crossfield and that the Town may be able to provide a less costly alternative.
“With transportation costs being one of the major costs associated with trips outside of the community, I wanted to look at a possible way to offer these trips at a potentially lesser cost to the group,” said Vang.
“The groups may include but are not limited to the day camps, both younger children and the teens, seniors groups, school field trips, school sporting teams, community sports teams or other groups needing transportation for larger numbers of people.”
While discussing the idea, Mayor Phil McCracken presented the idea of allowing local businesses to get involved financially with the project.
The item will be reviewed at the Oct. 5 regular council meeting, as Vang is hoping for a commitment from the various community groups that could use the vehicle.
“I would like to have a commitment from the community that it will be utilized. With the number of trips outside the community just through the recreation department alone, I have no doubt that it will be utilized,” said Vang. “If it is a way to help minimize an expense to the schools or sports teams for outings, I feel it will benefit the community.”
