It’s been five years since the Town of Cochrane adopted the Cochrane Sustainability Plan (CSP).
A project created by Cochrane residents for Cochrane residents, the plan outlines a long-term vision for the community. Central to the plan are the following elements: social, cultural, economic, environmental — both natural and created — and governance systems.
Helping to steer Cochranites are 13 “Pathways to the Future”; guidelines that monitor where and how the community can grow sustainably over a 50-year span. The pathways are listed on cochranesustainability.ca.
“The sustainability plan is based on what citizens expressed in 2008 and 2009,” said Jeff Couillard, co-chair of Sustainability Partners Uniting Resources (SPUR), the group tasked with implementing the CSP. “We’ve been playing with how to implement such a broad, complex plan.”
SPUR is laying the groundwork to engage residents once again, said Couillard. He said the group is hoping to re-assess the CSP target in another few years, after accumulating about five years worth of feedback and data.
“We’re not necessarily going to put the CSP on the block, but we want to re-examine our pathways and target,” he said. “We want to make sure these pathways are aligning with community values.
“The definition of sustainability, for our purposes, has remained the same. It’s about what citizens see Cochrane to be and what they want Cochrane to be in the future.”
The CSP was one of the factors that spurred councillor Jeff Toews into running for council in 2010. He said he disagreed with a portion of the plan’s projection for 2059, which envisioned residents living, working and playing in relatively compact, mixed-use neighbourhoods.
“Those close compact communities — I didn’t, and still don’t, know anyone with a young family who wants to be on top of their neighbours,” said Toews.
Toews is quick to praise the town’s attempt to incorporate residential development with details that add to quality of life. He mentioned recommendations such as more greenery, wider sidewalks, wider roadways and more space between houses. He said that while some of the plan is well done — citing the town’s current recycling program and plans for a multi-sport facility as successes — he finds the 13 pathways leave room for interpretation.
“Everyone who wants something stands in front of council and starts talking about how their project aligns with the Cochrane Sustainability Plan,” said Toews. “Then it gets flipped around. There’s another pathway that goes against that particular project.”
Couillard said the plan was developed with the intention of being broad and comprehensive.
“All we did was set a target — it doesn’t matter how we get there,” he said. “The plan was meant to be organic. It’s about the community coming together to come up with solutions. Citizens, organizations, the Town of Cochrane — everyone is going to contribute differently.”
Each year (beginning in 2010) SPUR monitors the plan and creates a progress report. The most recent report outlines the progress from 2012. The publication provides a general overview of where the plan is standing, as well as details the impact — or lack thereof — of each pathway.
The 2012 report saw positive movement towards the target in a number of areas, such as housing, volunteer hours, charitable donations, vehicle and non-vehicle access and renewable energy resources.
Negative movement was seen in areas of voter turnout, tax revenue sources, water use and local food consumption, among others. Greenhouse gas emissions climbed to 5,189 kilograms of carbon dioxide in 2012, up from 2011’s count of 5,121 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
No change was noted in the development of new community associations, businesses that source local supplies or in the addition of multi-use facilities in Cochrane.
Couillard said the 2013 progress report has not been released but should be shortly.
Meanwhile, SPUR is in the midst of strategic planning for a series of upcoming developments. Expect to see SPUR members in chambers for a presentation during the April 14 council meeting.
