COCHRANE— Cochrane council has endorsed the final draft of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board Growth Plan.
Councillors Patrick Wilson and Morgan Nagel did not support the Growth Plan at the special meeting Monday (May 15) citing the loss of autonomy Cochrane faces if it is ratified. Councillors Marni Fedeyko, Alex Reed, Susan Flowers, Tara McFadden and Mayor Jeff Genung were in support of the Growth Plan.
Genung said every municipality has been concerned about maintaining its autonomy and identity and because of this ensuring flexibility within the plan has been essential when speaking with other board members.
“There is not this lockdown that you have to reach this density ... It’s more of a guideline to make sure that we're utilizing services, landscape and land in a collaborative and regional way,” Genung said. “This is a good thing in my opinion for Cochrane.”
Genung raised concerns the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board has been weaponized in a way that portrays it as taking things away from Cochrane. He explained in reality the benefits of belonging to the provincially mandated board outweigh the disadvantages.
The Growth Plan was developed around a set of overarching principles and goals based on environmentally responsible and sustainable growth management. These principles align with Cochrane’s strategic planning documents, including the Municipal Development Plan, Sustainability Plan, and Cochrane Community Vision, Genung said.
The Growth Plan will guide the growth of one million people and 600,000 jobs over the next 30 to 40 years. It is designed to generate a 40 per cent drop in land consumption, 15 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, 15 per cent reduction in water use and a 35 per cent reduction in the amount and cost of new infrastructure through the collaboration of resources between municipalities.
The Calgary Metropolitan Region Board was a provincial mandated initiative launched in 2018 to recognize the benefits of shared efficiencies while reducing economic, social, economic, natural and fiscal characteristics through the regional growth management of the 10 municipalities involved, said Cochrane planning services manager Riley Welden.
Each municipality has one vote on the board and seven votes are required to pass a resolution. The only exception is when Calgary casts a vote because it takes future majority giving the city veto power.
Cochrane is one of seven urban municipalities included in the plan.
Six place types, infill and redevelopment, mixed-use centres, masterplan communities, residential communities, rural and country clusters and employment-based developments are included in the plan.
For Cochrane as a preferred growth area, the plan will drive growth in the town through specific forms of development— Infill and redevelopment, mixed-use centres and masterplan communities.
As the town develops it will accommodate a percentage of population growth in the region using dwelling units. Welden said 75 per cent of these units will occur in one of the three preferred place types, and 25 per cent of growth can occur in a form at the discretion of the Town.
Infill and redevelopment have no minimum density target, mixed-use centres which will serve as Cochrane’s core requiring 15 units per acre and masterplan communities requiring eight units per acre.
In 2008 Cochrane established its Municipal Development Plan and the town has been planning communities as masterplan communities that match the density limits set in the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board.
An analysis was completed of Cochrane’s masterplan communities since 2008 including Greystone, Southbow Landing, Fireside, Heritage Hills, Heartland and Sunset Ridge. The analysis showed these six communities represent 84 per cent of dwelling units approved within Cochrane.
“Cochrane has already been doing this and is in alignment with the Growth Plan,” Welden said.
Welden noted all approved area structure plans can proceed under the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board Growth Plan, but any amendments will need to conform to the document. All future area structure plans and area redevelopment plans will need to conform to the Growth Plan moving forward.
The final vote on the Growth Plan will be presented to the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board on May 21. If approved it will be sent for review and ratification by the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Coun. Susan Flowers said cooperation with neighbouring communities has been a topic of conversation for many years in the Calgary area. The Growth Plan will allow regions to become more efficient, foster collaboration and cooperation, save costs and plan for the future.
“For years and years, we’ve known that we need to plan with our neighbours we can’t just run around doing things that affect others without talking to each other,” Flowers said. “This is taking us in the right direction.”
Coun. Alex Reed said a major measure of success in Cochrane was ensuring the Growth Plan aligned with the Town's community visions and principles.
“It clearly sets out a long-term direction for the future of our community and supports that. It creates a regional approach in terms of planning and collaboration in terms of optimizing services we’ve talked about,” Reed said. “And we still are able to maintain our local autonomy. I think it’s a win-win situation.”
Reed said the benefits of the plan far outweigh the potential loss of autonomy Cochrane could face.
Coun. Morgan Nagel noted the only reason Cochrane is unaffected by the Growth Plan is that development and planning practices in Cochrane have overlapped with the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board. Any future changes will be forced to abide by what is set in the Growth Plan.
He added he has never been in favour of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board because he does not like the idea of centralized planning, Calgary’s veto power or telling neighbours how to develop, but membership has been provincially mandated.
He said he was unable to endorse the plan because he wishes Cochrane was building lower density and more traditional style developments, and these place types will be lost in the current Growth Plan.
“I do agree with what everybody’s saying— Since we have the CMRB in place we might as well play ball and try and get the best plan available to us,” Nagel said.
