More than 160 Springbank residents have voiced opposition to a proposed development for a commercial auto mall near the intersection of Old Banff Coach Road and 101 Street S.W., on the border of Rocky View County (RVC) and Calgary.
The application, from Bridgebank Development Ltd., requests the 62-acre parcel from a rural residential designation be rezoned to a commercial designation, with the ultimate goal of constructing a shopping complex for a number of auto dealerships.
Springbank resident Larry Benke said he received a letter from Rocky View County (RVC) informing him of the application. He said he opposes the development and has drafted a letter to the County outlining his concerns.
Benke is not alone in his displeasure about the proposed auto mall – 167 residents have signed the letter against the development.
“I’m not opposed to the landowner developing that property and I’m not opposed to auto malls in general, but an auto mall at that location is a terrible idea,” he said.
“That property backs onto two different subdivisions, so they’re rural residential subdivisions. The concept of an auto mall abutting an acreage subdivision is totally counterproductive.”
Benke said much of the community’s opposition stems from concerns the auto mall would bring added traffic to the area.
“Springbank Road is already very busy, and the traffic projections for auto malls are huge,” he said. “And this particular application has eight or nine stores planned.”
A Facebook group – No Springbank Auto Mall – was also created to challenge the development.
“The construction of an auto mall will increase traffic congestion, noise and may lead to more traffic accidents,” reads a post on that page. “An auto mall will also transform this area into an industrial area, which is incompatible with the current land use – which is residential use only.”
The developer, Murray Atkins, said his proposed development is a small drop in the bucket when looking at the long-term plans for the region. With completion of the West Calgary Ring Road expected by 2021, he said, the surrounding communities of Springbank and northwest Calgary are going to experience significant commercial and residential development booms in the near future.
“I think much of the adversity to this application comes from a fundamental misunderstanding as to what this site and surrounding region is going to look like in the next couple of years,” he said.
“This is not a standalone application in a desert of barren farmers’ fields, as it is being framed by the opposition. Auto dealers have already been approved directly across [101 Street] from this site, inside the city limits.”
Atkins added the additional economic benefits associated with commercial development would benefit RVC in the long run, as it would allow the County to broaden its commercial tax base.
He also claimed the nearest residents to the site are at least 400 metres away, through a thick area of trees and foliage.
“I don’t know where those opposed live within this plan area, but I am very comfortable in saying I don’t think they will hear or see any part of my development, or in any way be inconvenienced,” he said.
“The closest resident to this auto mall application is four-football-fields away, through heavily treed Municipal Reserve areas. A few other neighbours are closer to a kilometre away. Where else would you find those kind of buffers and setbacks?”
Attila Varga, who lives adjacent to the site and attached his signature to Benke’s letter, Attila Varga, disagreed with Atkins’ claims, and said an auto mall would be detrimental for the wildlife that frequent the forested area that backs onto the parcel where the auto mall would be located.
“If the auto mall comes in, it will devastate the environmental aspect and the ecosystem will be completely disrupted,” Varga said. “We regularly have moose, deer, coyotes – lots of different wildlife that come and go on a regular basis. [This development] would be devastating to them, too.”
He added what initially attracted him and his family to Springbank more than two years ago was the serenity and quiet of the area, which he said would be challenged by the arrival of an auto mall.
A first reading for Atkins’ rezoning application will be brought to RVC council at its Sept. 10 meeting. According to a statement from the County, the proposed development is in the “very early” stages and RVC has not yet done its own analysis of the application.
“Council will either refuse the application, or order a report by giving it first reading,” the statement read. “First reading does not mean council agrees or disagrees – it simply means they want an analysis and a complete report prepared.”
If first reading is granted, according to RVC’s statement, a complete report will be written and made available to the public for comment. The matter would then go to a public hearing for full consideration.
