Rocky View County (RVC) councillors voiced their opposition to the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board’s (CMRB) proposed growth plan during their regular meeting on Feb. 23.
The emergent item came after a request from neighbouring Wheatland County, which recently submitted opposition to the CMRB’s draft plan. Foothills County, located south of Calgary, also formally opposes the plan.
“I think this is a great motion and I would gladly move to adopt this,” said Coun. Greg Boehlke. “We are a little behind on this and we shouldn’t be – we should be leading the charge. It is great to see this.”
Over the last three years, 10 municipalities surrounding Calgary have been working on a regional growth plan to guide future development in the area, to accommodate a projected influx of residents in the coming years. The group – known as the CMRB – includes the municipalities of Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane, Strathmore, High River and Okotoks, as well as rural partners Foothills County, Rocky View County and Wheatland County.
The CMRB's mandate is to support long-term sustainability, with a focus on environmentally responsible land-use planning, growth management and efficient use of lands, while also developing policies regarding the coordination of regional infrastructure investment and service delivery.
An email sent to RVC by Wheatland County Reeve Amber Link stated it requested RVC council to consider the draft plans and consider a resolution establishing council’s position.
“We have grave concerns regarding the Growth and Servicing plans as drafted,” Link wrote in the email. “The entire plan is based on a premise we fundamentally disagree with. It is reprehensible to us that we are putting forward a statutory plan that will drive investment out of Alberta.”
Link’s letter stated it is more critical than ever that involved municipalities are united in reducing bureaucracy, committing to fiscal efficiency and strategically attracting investment.
“Rather than stifling or outright stopping economic development in any municipality in Alberta, we must be laser-focused on job creation, reducing tape and economic recovery,” she said
The motion to oppose the CMRB's draft growth plan was passed by a vote of 6-3, with Couns. Samanntha Wright, Kevin Hanson and Crystal Kissel the sole councillors in opposition.
The most recent draft of the CMRB's growth proposal was released on Feb. 2. RVC administration stated a thorough review of the new draft had not been completed, which led to some councillors opposing the motion. They questioned how councillors could be against something they haven’t read yet.
“The plan has changed, and we don’t know what that is,” Kissel said. “We are making a complaint about something and we don’t know what the changes are.”
Wright echoed Kissel’s sentiments when she voted in opposition.
“We are referring to a Feb. 2 document that is being replaced, it makes absolutely no sense,” she said. “It doesn’t give any credence to our complaint.”
Part of the motion spoke to the fact RVC has contributed more than $250,000 worth of staff and elected officials time over the last 13 months of the growth plan project.
Hanson said he liked that the motion called for cost accounting and the impact the plan would have on surrounding municipalities.
“That gives us a true picture of what the regional planning investment is,” he said. “I like parts of [the motion], I don’t like the fact that we are basically complaining about an old version.
“I don’t think it puts us in a good light.”
—With files from the Cochrane Eagle and Okotoks Western Wheel
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
