The draft of Rocky View County’s (RVC) County Plan may have just been unveiled, but Richard Barss said the reaction from county residents has been positive.
Currently finishing up a seven-stop public engagement tour of open houses throughout the county, the plan will act as a guideline for municipal growth and development for the next 10 years.
“Generally, the residents are responding favourably,” said Richard Barss, project manager of the County Plan. “But, of course, the draft has only just been released.”
The draft County Plan — a municipal development plan for the county — has been broken down into three broad sections: growing communities, building communities and strengthening communities. Within these sections, county goals are outlined for everything from recreation and quality of life, to agriculture and business development, to ideas to maintain and enhance the environment. One of the key principles Barss mentioned was the idea of managing the growth of Rocky View County. The goal, he said, would be to limit growth and development to areas that have been designated for such.
According to the draft County Plan, the intent is to limit the residential population to no more than 2.5 to three per cent of the region’s population, conforming “to the county’s environmental, fiscal and community goals,” while still maintaining the county’s rural characteristics.
“We want to use existing infrastructure and capitalize on plans in existing areas of development,” he explained. “We don’t just want to drop down developments at random.”
Of course, nothing is set in stone yet. Feedback for the plan will continue to be collected until April 8. After that, Barss said suggestions and concerns will be taken into account before finalizing the second draft. The second draft will be presented to county council on June 11. To take a look at the draft document or to leave a comment on the County Plan, visit rockyview.ca.
