River Heights
The green light has been given to begin building commercial/light industrial in the community of River Heights on the south side of the river.
A total of 1.65 acres located at 4A River Heights Drive has received land uses to move forward with development, as council recognizes the need for shopping options for the growing community.
Rivercrest
Phase one of Rivercrest, a 37-acre site that will contain a future Rocky View Schools site, will moved forward following a 4-3 vote.
Couns Mary Lou Eckmeier, Tara McFadden and Morgan Nagel both voted against moving the development forward, with Nagel maintaining that he cannot support any further developments.
McFadden, while “in favour with 99 per cent of the plan,” maintains she cannot vote in favour of any plan where slope setbacks pose concern – a sentiment that Eckmeier agreed with.
Mayor Ivan Brooker emphasized the need to move forward with the plan so that the school site could be included in next year’s budget in order to keep new schools coming online in a timely fashion.
Shark Fin
Youth Belle Levisky earned a win with town council Monday night.
Town council gave the go-ahead in a 6-1 vote to implement prohibition on shark fin products within Cochrane.
Belle’s mother and town Coun. Gaynor Levisky commended her daughter’s commitment to her advocacy through her not-for-profit advocacy group for a shark fin-free world – 7 Fins Forever.
Coun. Morgan Nagel voted against the matter on the merit that should the matter be challenged, it would likely be overturned in an appeals court if ever challenged – as this would be a federal matter and “unconstitutional” for municipalities to vote on it.
“I’m never going to eat shark fin soup … I just don’t think it’s up to us to determine that.”
GRASP
The Town of Cochrane, along with the City of Calgary, have appealed Rocky View County’s recent Glenbow Ranch Area Structure Plan (GRASP).
The GRASP will pave the way for around 16,000 people on Cochrane’s eastern borders, with the opposing municipalities taking the position that the county development will place further congestion on Highway 1A and will not have enough services for its residents.
Drew Hyndman, senior manager of development services for the town, said the county has proposed mediation but that given the pending election that it would be more appropriate for the next council to determine course of action at the first meeting in November.
New CAO
Dave Devana will take over as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the town Oct. 10. Devana has more than 17 years experience in senior management for local government and is a chartered professional accountant.
Interim CAO Lori Craig will retire from the town on Nov. 30 and deputy CAO Suzanne Gaida was recently promoted from her role as senior manager of community service for the town.
