A first draft of Mountain View County's new Highway 2-27 area structure plan (ASP) was presented to the steering committee overseeing the project on Jan. 14.
The plan is being formulated to provide a new policy framework for the future planning and development of the lands within the plan area, which covers 9,770 acres of land directly east of Olds.
The plan area extends from the eastern boundary of the Town of Olds to one mile east of the intersection of Highway 2-27. The northern boundary is Twp. Rd. 332 and the southern boundary is Twp. Rd. 324.
The 2-27 ASP must adhere to the countywide municipal development plan (MDP), which currently allows for a maximum of 80 lots per quarter section to be considered with servicing.
The steering committee is made up of councillors and members of the public at large.
Steering committee vice-chairman and councillor Al Kemmere chaired the Jan. 14 committee meeting in council chambers.
"I think we've come a long way,î said Kemmere, the councillor for Division 7, which includes the plan area. "It is our first draft to do a major review on and there will be changes coming forward. We still have items to have further discussions on.î
The draft plan includes a map that divides the plan area into such things as agricultural district, country residential, local commercial, highway commercial, business park, parks and conservation, institutional and industrial.
The draft plan itself outlines 10 principal goals, including encouraging "new development that respects existing residents and development and benefits all county and town residents through employment, business and retail opportunitiesî, and "create a plan that is economically viable and sustainable over the long-termî and "as part of this process the ASP committee may make recommendations to council to amend the MDP.î
Principles of development in the draft plan include the "preservation of agricultural lands and existing natural featuresî, "business park development will be concentrated around the Highway 2-27 interchangeî, "higher density residential development will be concentrated around the golf courseî, and "entranceway development will be concentrated on both sides of Highway 27.î
The land use concept section of the draft plan requires that developers prepare concept plans to address items such as lot configurations, internal road systems, municipal reserve and open space lands, infrastructure requirements and public consultation.
Regarding servicing and utilities, the draft plan says "developers are responsible for the cost of engineering and installation of all servicing and utilities, including water, wastewater and storm water.
"Developers may enter into an endeavour to assist agreement with the county to potentially recoup a portion of the servicing costs where future developments are likely to desire connections to same service lines.î
Before the plan goes to a second public open house ñ the first one was held in 2013 ñ at least one more steering committee meeting will be held, probably during the last week of February.
"It (the next committee meeting) will be a lot more focused on lot sizes and servicing and how the two get linked together,î said Kemmere. "Hopefully we can have a good discussion on all that.î
Before the committee reviewed the draft plan on Jan. 14, a delegation from the Friends of Netook, a lobby group for development in the plan area, read out a letter from the organization's chair, Michele Sisson-Allison.
In that letter, Sisson-Allison called on the current council to grandfather development in the plan area to adhere to the previous MDP (which allowed for 240 lots per acre, instead of the current 80).
The letter reads, in part: "The ultimate goal would be for council to go back to the plan the original council approved, and uphold those commitments. Members of the Friends of Netook group would like to see the MDP amended to reflect the previous MDP that had made agreement to move forward with Netook Crossing.
"We would like to see council hold to those commitments, and have this area grandfathered in, so no one had to go down the path of a lawsuit.î
Kemmere said the committee welcomes input from the Friends of Netook.
"I think it's good to have them here. They are looking to move development forward,î said Kemmere.
Following the Friends of Netook presentation, Didsbury-area developer James Carpenter called on the county to enter into mediation with developers with projects in the 2-27 ASP district.
The next public open house regarding the 2-27 ASP could hopefully be held in late March or early April, said Kemmere.
