Cochrane mayor Truper McBride put forward a notice of motion during council’s March 11 meeting to temporarily put a halt to Cochrane High School’s wind turbine project.
McBride said the reason for the request was to give administration time to take the lead and develop a land-use framework to address such efficient-energy endeavors.
Though he acknowledged that town council is not the governing body on these type of efforts, McBride said the intent of the proposed framework would be to guide those who do make decisions, such as the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) and, in the wind turbine’s case, Rocky View Schools (RVS).
McBride said he had spoken to RVS about his intent to delay the project until a land-use framework was created, and that the school board agreed to consider putting a hold on plans to erect the turbine.
RVS board chair Bruce Pettigrew addressed the issue by saying, “RVS has not yet received a request from the Town of Cochrane to delay our (AUC) submission. If we do receive such a request, of course our board would be willing to work with our municipal partner.”
RVS approved the wind turbine project on Jan. 10.
Councillor Jeff Toews voiced his approval of the mayor’s notice of motion, saying, “We should have seen this coming a lot quicker.” Toews had met with the No Turbine in Town Coalition to get feedback from the group.
McBride underscored that this move was not to stop the turbine from being built, but rather to make the best decision on how to move forward.
An amendment to the land-use bylaw for Phase 4 and 5 in Fireside was approved, but not without some dissension.
The amendment changed the land use from residential single-detached (R-1) to residential single and two-dwelling (R-2).
The move was intended to allow for more diverse housing options, something councillor Joann Churchill believes Cochrane is in need of.
Both councillors Ross Watson and Toews, however, did not support the amendment.
“Here we are again trying to cram people into a community,” said Toews. “This is not what small-town living is suppose to be about.”
Watson’s concern centred around Fireside’s border to local ranchers, who have raised issues with what kind of fence will be used to separate them from the development for safety reasons.
Though administration advised council that only 20 per cent of the two new phases will be developed as R-2, Toews and Watson remained reluctant.
Toews also had concerns over street parking in the area.
The amendment increased the total number of units from 46 R-1 dwellings to 51 R-2 homes, raising the red flag for Toews, who said despite homeowners having two parking spaces per unit, those visiting would be forced to park elsewhere because there would be a loss to on-road parking in the affected area.
Councillor Ivan Davies did support the amendment, but also had reservations when it came to the fencing issue.
Davies said that although the developer showed a ‘willingness’ to address the fence at a later date, these types of matter can quickly change to an ‘unwillingness,’ leading to problems down the line.
Davies and council were quickly steered away from the fence issue, as the mayor and administration said the two topics were separate and had to be treated as such.
McBride said that because council has shown interest in the fence matter, he believed it would come back at a later date to be discussed by council.
