The Mountain View County council passed a motion June 26 instructing administration to start work on a proposed area structure plan southeast of Carstairs.
The proposed ASP could see a business park built in section 24, which is located just north of the Crossfield overpass intersection on the east side of the QE II, or directly east of the Schlumberger business park, officials said last Tuesday.
“It would be a limited services industrial commercial development focused for highway traffic,” said Robert Weston, architect of ERW Consulting Inc. who is acting as an agent for the ASP's landowners.
Limited services denotes that no municipal services, such as water and sewer, would be provided to the site, he said.
“What we're looking for from council first is just giving us direction to proceed, should they decide to do that – there's no approval from council until we have done all of our work and the public has had an opportunity for input.”
MVC council will be reviewing the proposed ASP on June 26, said John Rusling, director of planning and development services for the county.
“They were just in front of us asking permission to start this process,” said Rusling. “The policies and priorities committee is taking it to council on June 26, and has recommended that council support it.”
Future talks about the area structure plan will include what the clients want to see there, how big the lots will be, and other such information, he said.
The terms of reference the developer prepares will give council the details on the process, public meetings, and outline how long they intend the project to take to complete, he said.
“When we go to council, we're asking the developer to give us the terms of reference. So that will talk about how long it's going to take – and right now, we don't know.”
“They haven't given any specifics yet, but they will indicate that in the plan itself. It's the kind of thing that is talked out and negotiated with the community,” he said.
Weston said now they're just waiting to see if they're given instructions to proceed and prepare an (full) area structure plan.
“We'd have to address traffic, environmental, stormwater, identify in more detail the uses we're proposing, site sizing, phasing, and other issues.
“It's a public process so we'll be meeting with members of the public during several open houses, and when the document is finally ready, it will be submitted to the county for circulation, and eventually to a public hearing,” he said.
The public could speak to any concerns they might have or give the project a vote of support, said Weston.
“It is located in one of the highway commercial nodes designed for this type of development, so there is a level of recognition in terms of that section of land that has already been reviewed by council, and it's already part of the new municipal development plan that they have put forward.”
Rusling said he was relatively sure the land is all privately owned, and noted that Alberta Transportation will also have to eventually issue approvals for developments adjacent to a provincial highway.
“MVC's municipal development plan talks about increasing business developments around intersections on the highway, and this ASP would contribute to that objective,” he said.
Weston noted Alberta Transportation has not indicated any concerns during its discussions about the ASP at this point in time.
Frequently, ASPs such as these take upwards of a year to complete, said Rusling.
“We're very early in the process and who knows how long it could take.”
In Rusling's experience, if the project goes through all the various hoops within six to eight months, the developer will be doing well.
“But they can be longer, depending on the issues that arise.”
The process of approving an area structure plan is designed so that any problem areas, impacts, and kinks are worked out prior, he said.
The landowner located in the southwest corner of the section has indicated they currently do not wish to be included in the ASP, though they have indicated support for the proposal.
“He indicated he did not want to be included in the ASP area, which is his right,” said Weston.
“But he can also decide to come in as we work through our process. We haven't had a chance to meet with him, as he lives in northern Alberta, but we have had written communications with him though.”
