Residents and landowners near the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park can learn more about the Area Structure Plan (ASP) in development at an open house on May 16 at RockPointe Church in Bearspaw. According to RVC Senior Planner Richard Barss, the engagement session will be an opportunity for the development team to update the public on the plan’s progress.
“We will have a revised build and conservation area map, we will have a preliminary transportation map, and we are hoping to have some concepts on pathway connections as well,” Barss said. “We are also hoping to follow up a little bit more on the transferable development credits conversation with the public.”
According to Barss, the plan proposes a “transfer in density” to help balance between the conservation and development aspects of the plan – to ensure “equity” for affected landowners. The transferable development credits, he said, would allow landowners to develop on suitable land if their current property is part of the conservation lands.
“The people who are interested in that concept are asking fairly pertinent and detailed questions, so we are hoping that we can respond to that with some more detail for them,” Barss said. “Overall, though, the community’s reaction to this plan so far has been fairly positive.”
Barss said some residents are still concerned with the idea of development in the area, or the densities proposed with the plan, but he added, in general, residents have been supportive.
According to Barss, the creation of Haskayne Park in Calgary and the growth of Cochrane to the west has made developing a plan for this area a priority for the County.
While Barss said he hopes to see a draft ready sometime this summer, the upcoming open house will provide further information to interested residents and landowners. According to Barss, the maps that will be presented are a “refinement” of maps released previously.
“It’s a much more finalized map – last time, we presented a map that was about 70 per cent complete, and now we are up to about 85 per cent,” he said. “We’ve also got more refined population projections, so we will be presenting that, also.”
He added feedback is welcome, but this engagement session is primarily to present information rather than collect it. However, Barss said he is interested to see how residents and landowners react to the plans for the area’s parks and pathways that will be revealed.
“As we are progressing through the planning, more and more questions are coming up, so we are always making adjustments that we then need to present to the public,” he said. “When we have a draft completed with policies in place later this year, people will have a more formal opportunity to react to it. But until then, we will continue to receive questions and input from landowners and work from there.”
