The man putting up posters stirring up opposition to a proposed development in Cochrane Lakes has decided to come forward publicly this week, now that the application has been submitted to Rocky View County.
Mackenzie MacKay said his research into development plans in the area prompted him to go public when he realized the issues were much larger than just the Magna Vista development he spoke to The Eagle about last week.
MacKay said he’s discovered the extent of opposition to development in the surrounding area as a result of his efforts to engage with neighbours over the Magna Vista development.
It’s now a much larger issue, affecting a much larger area in what local residents commonly refer to as the Cochrane Lakes.
Last week, MacKay spoke to The Eagle about a proposed subdivision of 180+ lots against the fence line of existing residences on Trails End Road and Mount View Estates on the north end of town.
The site is situated in Rocky View County (RVC), on a rural edge of the Cochrane North Area Structure Plan directly adjacent to the municipal boundary of the Town of Cochrane.
The opponents, who’ve spread their views through notices on postal super boxes in and around the area, are calling the Magna Vista proposal a “high density subdivision” that will have a negative impact on the environment, community character, traffic congestion, water and wastewater.
And it will disrupt their view of the mountains.
Now that the County has received the formal application for the Magna Vista Conceptual Scheme, the redesignation of the land use is the next step in the process.
But MacKay said there are bigger issues at play, involving perhaps the addition of about 6,000 more residents, along with the increased pressures on Cochrane’s infrastructure.
Complicating the issue is the fact that the land is in Rocky View County, but the added pressure on infrastructure largely falls on the Town of Cochrane.
“This whole thing goes far beyond the Magna Vista development,” he said.
Looking at the surrounding areas, MacKay said even a conservative, rough calculation showed the potential for an additional 6,200 residents.
“That’s potentially 6,200 more vehicles, all accessing facilities in the Town of Cochrane. The core of Cochrane can’t even handle the current residents that come in and out of town, because the roads are so full,” he said.
“There’s only two ways in and out of town.”
He added the new development in Cochrane Lakes also adds pressure on things like wastewater, schools and emergency services in Cochrane.
“The folks in the Town of Cochrane need to be aware of what’s going on around them, and how that’s going to affect them,” MacKay said.
“Where are all the kids going to go (to school) as these areas are added?” he asked.
Mark Krysinski, Cochrane’s Director of Community Growth, said the County and the Town of Cochrane often work closely on development issues close to municipal boundaries.
“With any proposed development application submitted and circulated to the Town of Cochrane, we review the plan and consider the impact that the development could have on our municipal services and our capacity to accommodate any likely impacts based on the available information at the time,” he said. Town staff are in the process of completing this review and gathering feedback from internal departments prior to providing a formal response to Rocky View County.
There has been some talk of how the added pressure on wastewater might affect Cochrane. Shane Hubl, Cochrane’s Director of Operations Services, said a service agreement exists between RVC and Cochrane for the transfer of Cochrane Lakes sanitary sewer through the Town’s system, which is sent to Calgary along with Cochrane’s effluent.
And Cochrane planners have anticipated the growth in the Cochrane Lakes area for some time.
Cochrane planned for growth in the Cochrane Lakes area when sizing its sanitary mains that handle their sewage.
“Cochrane’s wastewater system has capacity reserved for the expansion of the Cochrane Lakes area, allowing for significant growth. No infrastructure upgrades in Cochrane are anticipated due to the Cochrane Lakes buildout,” Hubl said.
Residents opposed to the Magna Vista development have until Aug. 21 to register their opinions with Rocky View County.
