Rocky View County (RVC) held an open house on Oct. 1 to allow residents to view and provide feedback to the final draft of the Janet Area Structure Plan (ASP).
The plan covers 5,760 acres of land in Division 5, bounded by Glenmore Trail (Highway 560) to the south, the Calgary-city boundary to the west, the Chestermere and Calgary-city boundary to the north, and Range Road 282 to the east.
The open house on Oct. 1 was well-attended, with 25 landowners and representatives attending steadily from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The ASP is intended to replace the outdated Shepard Plan, which was only applicable to the western portion of the study area. The new ASP will support the County’s strategic direction for the development of a regional business park.
“This is the final open house before the Janet Plan is presented to (RVC) council on Oct. 28,” said Mike Marko, RVC senior planner. “This plan provides a framework for the next step of planning that needs to be done in this area, with a set of policies to guide developers on what their next steps are when looking at more detailed planning.”
Marko said that area-residents have participated in the engagement process. RVC hosted a number of workshops and open houses that have been well-attended by the public, he said, and the feedback they have received has been important in helping RVC administration identify a vision for the area.
“They’ve been very involved in the process, helping us to discover opportunities and constraints in that area,” he said. “We’ve now translated those issues that they’ve contributed into the plan we are currently presenting.”
Bruce Ramsay, a landowner in the long-term development zone located east of the canal, said that he feels his feedback has been overlooked. Following the release of a formal draft of the ASP on July 14, Ramsay submitted “a number of comments” to RVC.
“I’m very concerned that the long-term development area is being severely restricted in terms of what can be done with the lands in the short to medium term,” he said. “I’m not talking about any long-term development or developing them in the short term, it’s just about what a person can use them for.”
According to Ramsay, the way the ASP is worded indicates that landowners cannot use lands for any use other than their existing purpose. For example, he said, if a landowner with agricultural land has a son who wants to fix cars in the garage, that would not be permitted under the proposed ASP.
“I feel there should be more flexibility shown towards allowing people in the long-term development area to make some use of their lands beyond the existing usages – not with a view to develop them but simply being able to say, operate a small business,” said Ramsay. “I don’t have an issue with the overall plan for this area going industrial.”
One of the main issues raised by residents, which has been addressed in the final draft of the ASP, is stormwater management. While Marko did not provide specific details on how this would be dealt with, he said RVC administration has prepared policies to provide a number of solutions for the area.
“It’s still a work in progress, but we have a blueprint to take this issue to the next level of detail and know which direction we want to go to provide a final solution, which we will present to council,” he said.
“I think it is a very well constructed document,” said Earl Solberg, the area councillor. “It should provide ample room for continued industrial and commercial/industrial expansion in RVC which will add to the County’s net-positive tax revenue.”
“One feature that provides a bit of consternation is Alberta Transportations (AT) new plan to force Range Road 284 through a very productive quarter of land immediately north of Highway 560/Glenmore Trail,” he added. “I hope that this road will be kept as it exists now….we will be having some discussion with AT over this to see if there is a better alternative.”
Marko said he was pleased to see people coming out for more information.
“The engagement process keeps them involved, knowing and understanding how we can work collaboratively to develop a plan that’s a win for everyone – the County, residents in the area, and residents in adjacent areas.”
