COCHRANE— At the Monday (May 11) Cochrane Council meeting the Town discussed the cautious and staged reopening of the local economy, the land-use re-designation of the Greystone business area development and the pursuit of Rocky View County to seek a municipal status change.
ROCKY VIEW COUNTY SEEKS COCHRANE COUNCILS SUPPORT IN MUNICIPAL STATUS CHANGE
Cochrane Council has been asked to provide comments to Rocky View County in regards to their potential application to change their municipal status to a specialized municipality.
Rocky View is considering this request to change its designation because the County has characteristics that fit into multiple municipal classifications based on the Municipal Government Act in Alberta. The application to change the County’s designation from Municipal District to Specialized Municipality would go through Alberta Municipal Affairs.
Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung agreed in the principle behind the request he said, adding that he is generally in favour of moving in this direction but raised concerns in regards to inequities of cost.
“I would actually appreciate it if we said we are in favour after our growth plan has been approved,” Genung said, adding that any growth highlighted by the County should conform to Cochrane’s regional growth plan and encourage Rocky View Countys' full participation with the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board. Cochrane's Regional Growth plans competition target is January 2021 and Council would like to see this completed before Specialized Municipality status is given to Rocky View.
“My personal preference would be to have that disclaimer in there," Genung said.
This change of status is largely being considered because of the taxation inequalities that have arisen based on the pattern of development in the County— Rocky View has grown to include in urban-style hamlets, regional business centres and traditional rural areas.
Rocky View County is proposing five residential urban service areas and four business urban service areas.
In order to apply for this redesignation, Rocky View County is required to seek comments from the Town of Cochrane.
Council was supportive of Rocky View County's application to change their classification to Specialized Municipality, however, they highlighted three issues that remain unresolved with the County— The Glenbow Ranch Community and additional tax revenue to be provided to help support regional recreation funding, the impact on the Regional Growth Plan, and Rocky View County's role in the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board and the Countys' continued efforts to deviate from the adopted legislation and abandon a coordinated regional approach.
Councillor Susan Flowers commented that the re-designation makes sense given the diversity in Rocky View County.
“I would like to see our concerns and how we want them to be involved with the regional planning and how important it is at the same time,” Flowers said.
Coun. Tara McFadden expressed concerns over the Town's relationship with the county in terms of planning and the sharing of costs of services.
"If they want our support, we need to work together to be good neighbours both sides, and I haven't seen that in recent times," she said.
Cochrane Council voted to send comments on the re-designation application to Rocky View County but noted that it seemed premature given the Cochrane Regional Growth Plan completion date. Council asked that conditions raised during the meeting be included in their response to the municipality status sent Alberta Municipal Affairs.
TOWN OF COCHRANE READY TO RELAUNCH ECONOMY
Cochrane CAO Drew Hyndman noted that the province is entering week eight of the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of cases in the Cochrane demonstrates how seriously residents are taking the public health measures.
At the time of the council meeting, the Cochrane-Springbank region had 19 cases of COVID-19, three of which were active.
“I believe these numbers demonstrate the amazing job our community is doing to flatten the curve,” Hyndman said. “We’re very pleased with where we stand as a community, and think the next few weeks are quite important.”
The province has initiated a phased relaunch of the Alberta economy, Hyndman said, and the Town is taking steps to support the relaunch at the municipal level.
Three shovel-ready projects have been submitted to the province for consideration, he said and added that 2020 to 2023 capital projects are being removed in an effort to stimulate the local and regional economy by advancing construction work. They are now awaiting a response from the province.
He said the Town is evaluating the safe re-entry of staff into the workplace and eventually reopening facilities in Town to the public.
The Town will be using a phased approach to re-entry and evaluate all risks with safety as the number one priority.
Hyndman noted that residents can now drop-off yard waste at Town of Cochrane "Lagoon" Lock-up Site at the end of Griffin Road. This service will available from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“This is one step in the direction as we continually re-evaluate all of the ways we can assist our residents during these challenging times,” Hyndman said.
Cochrane Playgrounds and the Town skate park will remain closed at this time.
Any changes to access of outdoor public facilities will be dependent on public health recommendations and the availability of Town resources, Hyndman said. They are actively monitoring the situation and will re-evaluate as they move forward.
“They are making decisions based on science and using a very calculated approach,” Hyndman said, adding that they have been speaking with other municipalities in Alberta to understand how they are pursuing the relaunch safely.
Genung noted that the Town is taking their time and looking for available information on COVID-19 daily when decisions to re-open the economy are discussed. Genung asked for patience as it will take time to recover and rebuild from the social and economic impact of the virus.
“The health and safety is first priority of residents and employees,” Genung said, explaining recovery in Cochrane will be a responsible and carefully phased process. “I’m looking forward to how we as a council start to navigate through and keep Cochrane on the map throughout this.”
REDESIGNATION OF GREYSTONE PUBLIC HEARING EXTENDED TO MAY 25
Council opened a public hearing for the Greystone Phase 2 land-use amendment to discuss the future business developments that could take place in the area.
The future community of Greystone will be located on Griffin Road and River Avenue beside the Spray Lake Family Sports Centre. The area is the former location of a BURNCO gravel pit operation.
The area is now looking for re-designation for future development now that the gravel pit has ceased operation at the site.
The proposed land-use re-designation would apply to 9 acres of the central business district, 16 acres of a business park district, 11 acres of general industrial district on the north end and .7 acres of public service district.
The central business zone in Greystone would accommodate retail, office, restaurant, hotel or grocery stores and would pedestrian-oriented in design. The business park would feature offices, light manufacturing and educational facility, and the industrial area would be designated for light manufacturing, warehousing and storage facilities. The Public service district connects to the pond in the area and serves as a green space.
The Town of Cochrane council adopted the Greystone Area Structure Plan in July 2018 and the Greystone Development Area C Neighbourhood Plan in Aug. 2018 to help guide the development of the area. It was envisioned the west half of the property would be residential and the eastern half would be for industrial and business development.
No concerns or comments have been received in regard to the land-use amendment to date.
The public hearing on the land use designation will remain open until the next council meeting to ensure residents have time to comment on the project and for the Cochrane Planning Commission to provide comments to the council.
The applicant pursuing the re-designation will be addressing any questions or concerns at the next Council meeting on May 25.
