When it comes to how regional growth is managed, surrounding Rocky View County and the Town of Cochrane largely have a difference of opinion.
Rocky View County have expressed concerns that the province is mandating the Calgary Metropolitan Region Growth Management Board, much like the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (formerly the Capital Regional Board).
County Reeve Greg Boehlke, has stated that “a lack of public consultation has plagued the growth management board from the beginning ... at no point did the Alberta Government ask residents and property owners in the Calgary region if they wanted to see autonomy taken away from their elected councils and given to an unelected board.”
The county maintains that a mandated growth management board will add layers of bureaucracy and cost. The county has never been a partner in the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) - the voluntary regional board that has fostered the collaborative efforts in the southern region for more than a decade.
Cochrane CAO Dave Devana thinks a mandated board will overall prove beneficial - as it provides clarity.
“That’s the advantage of having a growth management board in place ... it will define where the growth centres will be,” said Devana, adding that it ties in neatly with the move toward “smart growth” by providing a higher level of certainty and a checking mechanism.
Edmonton Metro Region Board CEO Malcolm Bruce is sympathetic to the concerns coming out of the southern region, as change is always difficult, but feels in the long run a mandated board will prove more beneficial than not.
“I think (the Edmonton Metro Board) has been viewed by the provincial government as a success, as it’s being replicated in Calgary ... there will be pains through that relationship building, but over time it becomes more collaborative and beneficial.”
Bruce said the board has a regional growth plan of 30 years, with growth forecasts updated every five years and comprehensive renewals every 10.
He reiterated that the idea is not to stop or dictate growth, only to ensure growth is managed better, done better.
Coun. Morgan Nagel shares the concerns expressed by the county.
“The number one problem with the growth management board is going to be the legislated requirements of density targets,” said Nagel, who is firm that other municipalities should not dictate how Cochrane will grow and vice versa.
Mayor Jeff Genung is looking forward to the regional collaborative effort but is also concerned about density requirements.
Drew Hyndman, senior manager of development services for the town, said the overall should be a positive and that the 8 units per acre density requirement is something Cochrane has bought into since it came into effect in 2006, through the town’s CRP membership.
According to Lauren Arscott, press secretary to Minister Shaye Anderson of Municipal Affairs, “we have heard concerns about autonomy, but Albertans understand that regional cooperation is the most cost-effective and efficient way to deliver services to their communities.”
The ministry has mandated that Rocky View County, Airdrie, Calgary, Chestermere, Cochrane, the MD of Foothills, High River, Okotoks, Strathmore and Wheatland County all fall under the planned Calgary Metropolitan Region Growth Management Board, which is expected to come into effect by early 2018.
