Langdon residents voiced their concerns about the expansion of their community at an open house on Jan. 21, where they had the opportunity to learn more about the revisions planned for their out-dated Area Structure Plan (ASP).
“Rocky View County (RVC) council has already identified Langdon as an area to accept population growth and to plan for that growth in its future,” said RVC Senior Planner Mike Marko. “We have not yet established what that growth level is going to be, but we are beginning the process to develop an ASP to address the future needs of the community.”
An ASP is a document that provides guidelines around the future development of an area or community, including proposed land uses, population densities, open spaces, roadways, and community services.
Langdon’s current ASP was created in 1999, with revisions in 2003 and 2005. Since ASPs should be reviewed every ten years, according to RVC administration, Langdon’s plan is overdue and was identified as one of five ASPs to be developed in 2015.
“Since Langdon is growing so fast, it has pretty much hit its borders already,” said Area Councillor Rolly Ashdown, who attended the open house. “There are always concerns when something affects 5,000 people, but the County has asked residents to come to the workshops and provide input, so I’m glad they are taking advantage of that.”
While Marko said the revised ASP will mainly be a continuation of the existing ASP, there will be some changes to the out-dated document. Primarily, he said, the plan will be updated to provide some design guidelines to address the appearance of public areas.
“This plan is going to take the bulk of this year, and we are hoping to have it before council for a public hearing in January 2016,” Marko said. “I think that as the process evolves, people will become more engaged. We want to make sure Langdon is planned in a responsible manner for all the people who live here.”
A main concern for residents at the first open house was the possibility of becoming a “suburb” of Calgary. Homeowner Roberta Colquhoun said she purchased a home outside of Calgary for a reason, and is worried Langdon may lose the small-town feel she’s used to.
“I love Langdon,” she said. “It’s a lovely place, and a very good community. We don’t even have our own police here – we don’t need them, because we look after one another. I don’t want to lose that, and I am concerned.”
However, thanks to the questionnaire provided by RVC, residents are able to express these concerns to administration before the planning process begins. For residents who didn’t attend the open house, the questionnaire is available on RVC’s website at rockyview.ca.
“There will also be future workshops and open houses,” Marko said.
“Once we get this initial questionnaire in, the information provided to us will be analyzed and we can start moving forward to develop a future vision.”
