Welcome to July: Currently myself, Clr. Hanson and our CAO are attending the Federations of Canadian Municipalities. This conference is well attended by the majority of Councils, Mayor, Reeves, CAO’s and senior leadership from across Canada. This year’s conference theme combines our status as “builders” with the outcomes we create as municipal leaders that lead to an improved quality of life for all Canadians. Building Better Lives ensures that, no matter the mechanism, our mission is to deliver on the issues that families and workers care about most—a powerful message for us as well as the federal leaders we’ll be engaging with this year. In a time where regional partnerships are paramount, this conference gives me an opportunity to learn more and network on a different level with our regional partners. I’m excited to attend this conference this year!
Request from a Resident: “I have yard work and painting that I wish to hire two students for July 6, 7 and 8th from 8 am to 3 pm. I live near the Springbank links golf club.” If you are that someone, or know of someone that is interested, please send me an email to kmckylor@rockyview.ca and I’ll pass your contact information onto the resident.
Around the Division: Many of you have likely already noticed the start up of the road construction on the overpass at Old Banff Coach Road. Alberta Transportation has indicated this continued work will be for a few months, but there are no planned closures of the bridge. It’ll be down to one lane though, so do expect delays especially at the beginning and end of the days.
If you ever have requests or questions, it is often better to call our Service Request line at 403.230.1401 or send us an email at questions@rockyview.ca to get your request in. It is answered 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. This is important because the Service Request can be dispatched even outside of business hours!
Springbank Off-Site Reservoir: In May Council approved the resending of Rocky View’s position on the SR1 project. Our position letter can be found at www.rockyview.ca/LivinginRockyView/Communities/Springbank/SpringbankDam.aspx. Our position is that we cannot support the project at this time. Our reasoning is clear. We don’t believe that all projects were adequately studied, did not use the same criteria for comparison and, in addition, very subjective criteria was used. Many things weren’t considered at all, including any negative impacts to our community, loss of valuable crop land, permanent contamination of soils, health risks and the list goes on. We had sent a letter to the previous AB Government in December, 2018 and have now sent it to Premier Kenney, Ministers and MLA’s. Also, at the May 28th Council Meeting I read in a motion (to be debated on June 11th) asking for a small budget to advocate Rocky View positions with the Government. While Municipal leaders can have conversations with our counterparts, and we can raise concerns through the formal submission process, using a outside voice can often get our message to Deputy Ministers and other key governmental offices. I will continue to fight for our community, preserving its landscape and advocating so that a toxic mess of silt and debris over 3000 acres is not left behind for us to live with. I’m also very pleased that Miranda Rosin, our MLA, is also championing this issue with the government.
Calgary (again) is on record stating they will not have capacity in the rivers to draw out enough water for its population by 2039. This is important and 20 years is not a lot of time to solve what will be a very real crisis for Calgary (and all downstream communities that rely on the Bow). Anyone who has watched a child grow up knows that twenty years goes by in a blink of an eye. Flood mitigation is important, and Rocky View’s position absolutely states we recognize the importance of this for Calgary and the region. The SR1 project is about solving one problem for one municipality, in a time of regional cooperation and partnership, we simply need to look at a bigger picture.
The Springbank Community Association is doing admirable work trying to get this message out. I spoke at two events in May (one in Elbow Valley and one at the Heritage Club) along with others. The Heritage Club event was very well attended and the press attended both events, as well as another event in June in Bragg Creek. I’ll be posting the details on my Facebook page soon.
The Firearms Bylaw: On May 28th our Firearms Bylaw was repealed. This was a very difficult decision. I heard (LOUD & clear) from Division 2 residents that they wanted the Bylaw gone, other than one email from a Division 2 resident in support of it. Our bylaw was not inline with Provincial and and Federal Laws, the bylaw was confusing, the no-shooting zones didn’t make sense, and anyone who was in an ASP, but on undeveloped farm land could no longer legally hunt on their property. There was no public consultation, there were no provisions for special events, and truthfully there was no ability for the County to enforce. So why was this hard decision hard? Because I also heard from many residents, mainly Bearspaw, that truly wanted a firearms bylaw. The bylaw comforted them and gave them peace of mind that municipally, provincially, and federally they had a level of protection. I understand that. Our current bylaw missed the mark, and while the local councillor believed that we could do a rewrite of the current bylaw, there was just so many things wrong with it. It seemed a better plan to me to start from scratch and build a bylaw, with resident and landowner input (right from the onset) and that wasn’t a one size fits all, but tailored to those communities that it makes the most sense in. I did present a motion arising after the firearms bylaw was repealed to initiate a new firearms bylaw, but unfortunately my motion lost 5-4. I was disappointed but recognize this how democracy works.
So what protection do you have in the meantime? Virtually all the same protection you had before. We have strict firearm laws that protect people and wildlife. We have the same people (RCMP & Fish/Wildlife) that will respond to gun complaints as we had before. Truthfully, our bylaw enforcement officers were engaging the RCMP if someone called in about improper use of firearm – our bylaw officers weren’t responding to these – so again, the same level of protections and laws apply. I know this is not what some residents wanted and very likely the Bearspaw area Councillor will bring something back for support. I will very likely support a future firearms bylaw provided it is NOT a one size fits all, that it is built with input from those impacted (including ranchers and farmers), it is built with flexibility to allow for events or reasonableness (ie. a small bow/arrow set that you might give a 8 year old to shoot at hay bales), and mostly doesn’t usurp the rights, privileges and rules that are already Provincially and Federally legislated. We can do better for everyone.
What is Springbank? Recently, along with the Division 3 Councillor, I met with STAPA (Springbank Trails and Pathways Association). STAPA is a small group of very dedicated volunteers working hard to further their goal of a diverse pathway system in Springbank. Whether on the side of the road, through communities – connected to other communities – a way to explore Springbank. This seems to be pretty reasonable, but also a very lofty goal for a community that was not built or envisioned to be a fulsome community.
Planning a community goes beyond just the particular community you live in. If you live in one of the newer developments (Morgans Rise; Harmony; Morning Side) your community likely has pathways and maybe even a few other community amenities (ponds; art; etc.) that you and your neighbours can enjoy – but if you child wants to ride his/her bike over to an adjacent community – that wasn’t planned for – no pathway continuation, which means a ride along one of our Range Roads, which most parents I’ve spoken to don’twant-sointhecarwego!Wearea larger community that hasn’t given much thought to the cultural, visual or people aspect of a broader community. What should the entrances to our community look like, when building roundabouts (which will happen along RR33), should they be utilitarian and just get the job done, or could they be visually appealing with planters, trees and public art in them? Should we have signs welcoming folks? Should there be an overarching community design so that when the County or development happens, we enhance the entire community. The County has tended to focus on the utilitarian: we deliver a road, to a standard. We add traffic signs, we add lights, we pave, we patch, we paint, but if our master plan (ie our ASP) had a bigger view of Springbank from a design perspective, that not only looked at what type of development will be where, how many houses, where recreation and commercial will go, but also had a vision of the bigger Springbank: would that be important to you? I would love to hear from you about that.
As important as all that is, it is also time to talk to us again about the ASP review. Please review the Springbank ASP draft at www.rockyview.ca/SpringbankASP and give your feedback online by July 12. Or you can book an appointment to talk to RVC staff on June 18 or 19 at Springbank Park For All Seasons.
I encourage you to look beyond just your corner of Springbank, think about all of Springbank: how it should look and feel (adding that cultural/design layer), think about 20 years from now. Think about how to keep your kids in the community (if they want to stay), how to make room for yourself as you age (ie smaller homes; affordable homes; amenities; multi generational living; services); think about jobs for children. Maybe they’re just 4 or 5 now and recreation/schools are the most important, but ASPs last 20- 25 years. Do you want them working closer to home or driving into the city for a part time job? Think about selling your home: what are families in 2019, 2029, and beyond looking for and how do we create value?
More often than not we look at ASPs as change (often viewed negatively) because what is being proposed isn’t necessarily what we moved out here for, but we have to look beyond the here and now. This is a plan that hopefully stands the test of time, and these plans don’t happen overnight. If there is a projected doubling of houses or population or roads or whatever, that may never happen or it could take 20, 30, or 40 years. The plan is built for the long haul, not tomorrow. A plan that isn’t designed for the future is likely to be challenged again and again in front a future Council, and it could be a future Council is rigid, or, is consistently amending the plan. When this happens you actually (in my mind) get worse development because it isn’t done with that future idea in mind. So get involved, ask questions – think about now, 10 and 20 years out, think about how and where you want to age, think about your little ones as they move into teenage and adult years. What will Springbank need in the future? None of us stand still, our kids grow up, we grow older, financial markets change and our own personal situations change. Our community needs to address these through vision, design and policy.
Kim McKylor
kmckylor@rockyview.ca
