A second community meeting on the proposed Cochrane North development was held at Weedon Hall Oct. 12, drawing a steady stream of area residents and others interested in the development.
A packed open house in May resulted in enough concerns about transportation and stormwater solutions that Tulum Development and Management Corp, felt it warranted a follow-up meeting.
“We want to restore confidence back to the area,” explained Asad Niazi of Tulum, confirming that the application was submitted to Rocky View County last month and pending approvals, his team is hopeful to dig dirt by late 2017 or early 2018.
Niazi and his team set up diagram boards with maps indicating their planned main access – an uncontrolled intersection – into the community, as well as their stormwater management solution, which includes the retention of the wetlands and a filtration system into a pond before water enters Cochrane Lake to “improve the over quality of the lake water, not worsen it.”
One Monterra resident expressed concern over what he felt was “a lack of transparency” from the presenters.
“I haven’t found one resident happy about this development adding traffic that will be coming through our community,” said Bob Higginson, a six-year Phase One Monterra resident.
Higginson said he was less than pleased that the developers aren’t highlighting the access road that would run through the Monterra community on their diagram boards and aren’t addressing the pressures this development would add to an increasingly busy corridor of traffic along Highway 22.
Another Monterra resident, who requested his name not be printed, was in agreement with Higginson and questioned the reality of when the province will actually address the Highway 22 and Highway 1A intersection issues.
Niazi said his team has nothing to hide. He said the access road linking Cochrane North and Monterra was not posted on the diagram board because it runs on the Monterra development lands and the diagrams posted only included Cochrane North development lands.
Niazi added that although general area traffic would increase, the situation of the community’s future access point onto Highway 22 would be the most practical and convenient point of entrance and exit in and out of the community and he does not believe it makes logistical sense for Cochrane North traffic to take the access road into Monterra, wind through the community and exit back onto Highway 22.
“It’s just logistics – people aren’t going to take the longest route, they’re going to take the fastest one,” explained Niazi.
Gabriel Hagg, who works in the development industry, attended the open house out of curiosity. He commended the work of the Tulum team for developing “in the most sensitive style, with clustered housing and creating the most amount of green space, more than double the requirement (at 70 per cent).”
Niazi said he is happy to meet with anyone who was unable to attend the meeting or has further concerns, on a one-on-one basis. He added the overall feedback was positive.
Purchased by the Weedon Joint Venture Partnership and managed by Tulum Development Management, the 316-acre development area spans immediately north of Monterra Phases One and Two and east of RR4
Anticipated construction would begin in 2018 for a 425-unit build-out that would include a seniors complex as per the 2007 area structure plan.
To learn more about the submitted proposal, visit cochranenorth.com.
