Several Springbank residents are intending to appeal the approval of a development permit for a newly proposed Costco in the future commercial development known as Bingham Crossing.
According to Al Schmidt, vice-president and director of planning for the Springbank Community Association, Rocky View County’s (RVC) own development approval processes basically force community members’ hands in this instance.
Looking over the Notice of Decision published on Feb. 7, Schmidt pointed out the fact there were nearly 50 prior-to-release conditions imposed upon the new Costco – many of which pertain to problems with the design of the building itself.
“In this case, residents of Springbank are looking for something a little different from the typical Costco,” Schmidt explained. “In this case, the prior-to-release conditions are some of the most extensive I have ever seen.
“In essence, (RVC) administration is saying we have approved your development permit, but we didn’t approve your building.”
This creates a situation, Schmidt argued, where residents are being asked to weigh in on the Notice of Decision, but would have no say (if the development permit passes the appeal period ending Feb. 28) to weigh in on the final form of the Bingham Crossing Costco building itself as that is not yet available for residents to see. And it won’t be anytime soon, if Costco has to go back to the drawing board and then resubmit its design scheme to the County if and when that is complete.
“If a community member wishes to appeal this, they are not appealing the final version that is being approved,” he explained.
Thus, several residents in Springbank have decided to appeal to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB), according to Schmidt, just so they can register their concerns.
He noted the process RVC has outlined essentially creates a “speak now or forever hold your peace,” scenario.
“The plans submitted by Costco are not yet consistent with the approved land use for Bingham Crossing, and we certainly appreciate Costco’s efforts to date with respect to the feedback they have received from the County,” he said. “We trust they will continue to work with Rocky View administration to get the design modified to get compliant with the approved scheme for that site.”
And, Schmidt noted, perhaps even Costco might decide to appeal on its own to challenge some of the 46 prior-to-release conditions the County has imposed on them in this instance. He predicted a “heated” discussion when the case finally comes to SDAB in the future.
“Obviously, it is a challenge for a national group – no matter what company it is – to somehow walk that line between preserving their brand and dealing with a site-specific context,” he acknowledged.
“(But) the view of many people in Springbank would be that there is a long way to go to get a site-specific context sorted out (in Bingham Crossing).”
