Council’s 6-1 vote in favour of the Fireside Stage 2 Neighbourhood Plan July 14 left members of ‘Save Fireside Wetland’ (SFW) disappointed.
Following a lengthy presentation by Jared Kassel, manager of development for the town, and a battery of questions from each councillor, all councillors but Morgan Nagel voted on the motion to approve the neighbourhood plan.
“We’re very proud of councillor Nagel in standing up to a united front,” said Larry Weirs of SFW. “This council is clearly in favour of 10 per cent growth.”
Cochrane grew by 10 per cent in 2013.
The road to approve the plan has been a long one, as council had deferred the decision until they had cost estimations on what the ticket would be for the town to purchase Fireside Wetland #15 (previously determined as ‘seasonal’ and not valuable enough to save, unlike nearby Wetland #16 which has been preserved) back from the area developer (La Vita Land) and preserve it.
The cost was presented as a ballpark estimation between $3-5 million — a ticket that most councillors agreed they weren’t willing to put on the taxpayer.
“There’s no way I could put something with that price tag on the taxpayer,” said councillor Mary Lou Davis.
Nagel voted against the motion on the basis of his mounting concerns with reports of cracked sidewalks and water issues in Fireside Stage 1.
Rick Deans, manager of infrastructure with the town, said the cracking cement is likely due to the decision by the developer to pour concrete late in the season; it was noted that all reparations would be taken care of by the developer before a ‘Final Acceptance Certificate’ would be issued — thereby exchanging responsibility of the subdivision from the developer to the town.
Another concern councilors honed in on was the water issues in nearby Rolling Range Estates; in previous council sessions, residents of Rolling Range had expressed growing concern over the creeping water levels onto their properties since the development of the Fireside subdivision.
Councillors were reassured by Kassel that the consensus is that building a stormwater management system would rectify these problems.
“This has not been an easy process,” said councillor Gaynor Levisky, who has delved into extensive research of the situation, consulted with wetland professionals and toured Fireside and Rolling Range Estates.
“At the end of the day for me, we are growing…when we grow, we’re going to disturb our natural environment and we need to find a sustainable, balanced way to grow.”
Levisky said that overall, Phase 2 is a ‘balanced plan’ and that the short-term risks, including the rising water levels encroaching on the properties of Rolling Range residents and the tax implications on Cochranites, outweighed the negatives of the neighbourhood plan.
Rolling Range resident Kelly Falk expressed disappointment with the town planning department and said he was surprised they neglected to bring up a number of concerns he and others on board with preserving the wetland had previously brought up with them —including hydrological concerns, cracking and moving basements.
Falk said the long-term consequences of moving forward with Fireside Phase 2 may be ‘putting homeowners at risk’.
A public hearing has been set for June 28 at 6 p.m.
Council voted unanimously to a third and final reading of Bylaw 16/2014 to provide a legal framework for the implementation of the multi-family recycling strategy by June 1, 2015.
Councillor Nagel was the sole councillor who previously opposed the strategy, deferring the reading until July 14; this time around, the final reading received unanimous consent.
The strategy, as presented by town manager of waste and recycling Sharon Howland, aligns with the ‘Zero Waste Framework’ adopted by council in 2012; this vision seeks to divert 80 per cent of waste from landfill by 2020.
The bylaw was first presented to council March 24, seeking to implement a mandatory program for condo and apartment complexes of eight units or more to contract private recycling and waste diversion collection services.
Nagel felt that multi-family dwellings should not be forced to pay for private services where the town had no cost control; Howland has assured council that the town would vet recycling providers first and provide support to multi-family complexes required to hire providers.
Moving forward, the estimated budget for town waste and recycling to provide education and monitoring services for the program would be between $3000-$5000 a year.
An estimated 12-15 per cent of Cochranites live in multi-family dwellings with no current waste diversion and recycling program in place, meaning residents are responsible for sorting their own recyclables and carting them to the Eco Centre.
Howland provided a rough estimation at March 24 council that the implementation of the services would increase individual condo fees between $3-10 per month.
Council appointed Gail Butz as the designated assessor for the town July 14.
The decision was unanimous, as the town’s contract with the City of Airdrie for town assessments expired July 15.
The City of Airdrie will redirect residents to Cochrane assessors in the future.
Paige Milner, senior manager of corporate services, presented the 2013 annual off-site levies report to council July 14.
The report was unanimously accepted as information by council and the implication is that the requirement in Bylaw 10/2012 for annual reporting would be met.
Developers are contributing $48.8 million toward growth infrastructure, as detailed in the bylaw. This collection of off-site levies for subdivisions and developments can result in a reduced burden on taxpayers.
Milner remarked that “2013 was a phenomenal year in terms of growth.”
In 2013, $5,165,614 in levies was imposed for approximately 50 hectares, of which $2,587,899 was collected; in 2012, $2,002,065 in levies was imposed.
