Town administration will be taking a further look at 10 of the 32 proposed community enhancement amendments presented in council March 23.
Administration has been working on addressing a lengthy list of concerns regarding community enhancement, prompted by a notice of motion (NOM) presented by Coun. Jeff Toews and Gaynor Levisky last August.
Broken down into seven areas: community entrance plans; building separation and landscaping; parking and road standards; density; natural areas/connectivity; design/engineering standards; and existing community enhancements, some 10 initiatives were deemed feasible of further exploration by council:
Developing clear and consistent guidelines for community entrance plans (future and existing); increasing setbacks between homes by one foot; homes closer to have no front driveways or street parking (to park in alleyways/garages instead); increase landscaping requirements in higher density areas; require minimum number of trees to each SFD; change road standards to accommodate parked cars on each side of the road and two lanes for traveling vehicles; roads with no street parking must have adequate space in lanes with designated parking; extend FAC (final acceptance certificate; between town and developer, when town takes over life cycling and maintenance responsibilities from the developer); individual zoning changes must have notification to entire community (signage – for accessory suites; this is seen as more viable than sending a letter to an entire community); and requiring regular maintenance to vacant lots to ensure property is not unsightly.
Coun. Levisky, Toews and Morgan Nagel all expressed concerns over the push for eight to 10 units per acre as a target density for Cochrane; while each of these councillors understood that the density was as per the Calgary Metropolitan Plan signed by the town, as partners in the Calgary Regional Partnership, they all expressed concerns over striking a balance between market demands, sustainability and keeping Cochrane a desirable place to live in.
Toews said he and Levisky were motivated to put together the NOM as the quality of living has been lowered so much in Cochrane, and some changes to community enhancement would seek to raise it. Several of the 32 proposed amendments were determined to already be at work, many were determined too major/unviable to implement.
Upon further examination by administration, the list will be presented back to council as bylaw recommendations, which would require further public input before being passed.
Cochrane Library Board chair Chris Murray presented a report on the Nan Boothby Memorial Library 2014 operations to council March 23.
On top of discussing library renovations during the month of April (which will see the library closed for most of the month), Murray said that as of May 1, 2015, user fees would rise $5 for all memberships.
An annual family membership would then cost $25 instead of $20; this is the first increase in over 15 years and is still lower than many others in the Marigold library network.
The library will also be expanding for another full-time librarian and transitioning some part-time positions to full time to keep up with growth and demand.
Parents can anticipate an expansion of children’s materials and programming in the coming months.
For more on the library renovations, see the story below.
