After an almost eight-hour public hearing, Rocky View County (RVC) council voted unanimously to adopt the proposed Langdon Area Structure Plan (ASP).
The document, which was given first reading at a public hearing March 8, was brought back to council May 10 after being tabled March 22 for council to receive further information on issues including stormwater management, phosphorus loading of Weed Lake, Off-Site Levy structure, regional stormwater systems and transportation.
Representatives from MPE Engineering spoke at the hearing to provide council with a detailed explanation of the proposed stormwater management plan included in the ASP, which uses existing infrastructure and right-of-ways wherever possible to accommodate drainage.
According to RVC Planner Meghan Norman, this additional information has been “incorporated into the plan.” The approved ASP will result in a comprehensive community similar to the size of Strathmore, with employment opportunities, services, recreational facilities and homes within a boundary large enough to support growth for more than 10 years.
“It will provide for the logical and cost-effective progression of development,” she said, adding the proposed ASP reflects the feedback and consultation received through the engagement initiated during the plan’s development.
A number of Langdon residents and residents from throughout RVC spoke in support of the plan at the hearing – noting the plan incorporates consultation with very broadly defined local communities, is consistent with other County planning documents, meets the Terms of Reference set out for the project and addresses infrastructure issues effectively. According to RVC resident Janet Ballantyne, discussions and decisions around this proposed ASP may set a “strong precedent” across the county.
“It had seemed to me that this was a very stellar outcome,” she said. “A really good, compromised document that properly reflected the community’s interests and concerns, as well as providing a solid way forward to deal with the significant stormwater issues that have plagued the area while still permitting continued growth and development.”
However, Ballantyne said she was concerned that there was “tremendous pressure” on council to “throw out” what she said was a carefully prepared ASP to address “private objectives.”
Some landowners had expressed an interest in seeing the ASP boundary expanded to include their properties, arguing the larger boundary would provide further opportunities for stormwater drainage channels. Ballantyne said council’s support of this request would send a “negative message” to residents throughout the county.
Area Councillor Rolly Ashdown did propose amendments to accommodate some of these requests, to expand the hamlet boundary to be a part of the ASP policy with a “less restrictive” development policy area, and create a wider ASP boundary. Some councillors argued without further planning around the expanded boundary, it would be risky to move forward with adopting the ASP.
“We have no timelines, we have no density, we have nothing that addresses the Municipal Government Act (MGA) requirements of an ASP. Essentially, we’re throwing it out the window,” said Councillor Liz Breakey. “It may have merit, but there is just not enough information.”
According to RVC’s legal counsel, the boundary adjustment, as well as several other amendments proposed to the plan, would have required RVC to host a fourth public hearing. These motions failed on a tie vote with Councillors Bruce Kendall, Lois Habberfield, Jerry Arshinoff and Breakey in opposition.
Council was also advised further amendments may still be proposed to the document, even now that it has been adopted.
“I don’t like this ASP, I don’t like hardly anything about it,” Ashdown said. “But I’m not going to hold up the people of Langdon in having an ASP. This is a living document, and I’m going to be putting casts on all the broken pieces for the next little while.”
