When one thinks of rural Alberta, the picture of rolling fields of farmland and generation-old farmhouses comes to mind.
At least that is what used to come to mind, but in recent years there seems to be more of a push to turn this province’s important agricultural corridor into upscale neighbourhoods of high-end acreage homes.
Rocky View County seems determined to set the standard for that changing landscape.
Right now a drive between Cochrane and Calgary in county lands offers a tour not of golden canola fields or wheat blowing in the wind but of multi-million dollar homes clustered together in acreage communities.
Last week, the county approved first reading to another development plan that will further push the urbanization of rural land along Highway 1A – the Glenbow Ranch Area Structure Plan.
This development will add upwards of 16,000 people to the region, the equivalent of a medium-sized town. The ramifications are more than just adding to the already exorbitant urban sprawl of the Calgary region and further cutting into the rural heritage of Alberta, it also means added pressure on services in bordering communities.
Unlike the City of Calgary or the Town of Cochrane – both are opposed to this development – Rocky View County has very little to offer in terms of amenities. It doesn’t build arenas, pools or libraries, which means these new residents, like the county’s current residents, will need to utilize town facilities.
That is a lot of added pressure to Cochrane facilities and roads, all of which the town taxpayers are on the hook for.
Cochrane council has expressed its objections to the development, but the 7-2 approval indicates if passed, the town’s only recourse is a costly court appeal, which might not be a tenable solution – especially in terms of future town and county relations.
Aside from the county’s two largest bordering municipalities, county residents are also expressing their opposition to the Glenbow Park plan.
Rocky View Forward, a community advocacy group with a membership of more than 200 people, have taken the lead in fighting against the development, to no avail.
The county’s support of the development in the face of such overwhelming opposition lends credence to Rocky View Forward member Samanntha Wright’s stance that county council is being driven by private interests.
When it comes to development in rural Alberta, the focus should be on preserving agricultural land and lower densities – not creating an over-urbanized tax grab.
