Rocky View County (RVC) wants to hear from residents of the Conrich area as it determines the future land-use strategy for a section of the hamlet.
“Confirming the vision and confirming the character of the community is the key component that we really want to get out of them,” said planner Paul Simon. “That public engagement component is critical.”
To engage the community, RVC will host a workshop June 10 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Prince of Peace campus as work continues on the Conrich Future Policy Area project.
The project was launched after council approved a Terms of Reference to guide the process at a regular meeting Nov. 27, 2018. At the time, planner Sean MacLean said the area has seen increasing development interest since the Conrich Area Structure Plan (ASP) was adopted in 2015, but development is frozen until amendments laying out land-use policies are made to the ASP.
According to Simon, the project is the result of action items within the existing ASP. Feedback received during a public hearing led then-council to blanket a centrally-located, 2,717-acre area as a Future Policy Area (FPA).
“What that basically means is, development in this area cannot proceed until we amend the ASP,” Simon said. “We are following through on those actions council had identified back in 2015, to amend the plan to ultimately develop a land use strategy.”
The project, Simon said, seeks to achieve the objectives of confirming a land use strategy for the FPA and reaffirming Conrich’s hamlet boundaries.
The upcoming workshop will provide residents an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the process, Simon said.
“We’re going to have display boards set up to give information on the project [and] some handouts for people, so they can walk around with some information,” he said. “The key thing here is that we really want to present some different styles of development, some different design standards to people, and let people kind of come up with ideas.”
Simon added the workshop is anticipated to be the only open house for the project, and has therefore been slated to last three hours.
An online survey comprising 10 questions is also available at conrichsurvey.com until June 17, Simon said, offering another opportunity for residents to provide feedback. Residents can also contact him directly at 403-230-1401 or by emailing [email protected]
“We say to people all the time at open houses, this is your opportunity to be involved in the process,” Simon said.
The feedback received during the public consultation period will ultimately be incorporated into the policies RVC drafts for council’s consideration, according to Simon. Once public engagement is completed, he said, RVC administration will begin drafting policies, with a draft plan complete by the end of the summer.
The plan will then be presented to council at a public hearing, giving residents a final opportunity to make their voices heard. Simon anticipated the public hearing would occur in December.
